10 years of traffic ticket backlog cleared

The TTMS is a centralised, web-based system that was introduced in September 2010 by eGov, to improve ticket management from the point where tickets are issued to an offender, to either being paid at the tax office or adjudicated in court. The major update to the TTMS ensures accurate information is available to government agencies such as the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and the Courts, among other stakeholders.

Some 240,000 traffic tickets recorded as failed payments, from September 2010 to April 2019 have been rectified via the upgraded TTMS. Senior director for the Ministry’s major technology transformation branch, Arvel Grant, says the almost ten-year backlog can be attributed to “errors in interpreting the driver’s license number or traffic offence code on the handwritten tickets, creating scenarios where a ticket was paid at the Tax Authority, however the ensuing ticket update failed the verification process”.

Grant further explained that “over the years, those failed verifications accumulated and the related traffic tickets remained labelled as outstanding tickets. The recent update corrected this issue, cleared the ten-year backlog and enhanced the integrity of traffic ticketing data”.

Minister of National Security, Dr. Horace Chang, says the ministry has identified that poor data entry is an ongoing issue and is embarking on a pilot project to replace the manual ticketing system.

“The proposed handheld ticketing solution will comprise a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet and a mobile printer which will allow JCF officers to efficiently validate offenders’ driver’s license and vehicle registration, while facilitating the production of accurate and legible traffic tickets, significantly reducing data entry errors”, said Minster Chang. 

Further system improvements and preventative measures are in progress to ensure there is no repeat of the failed payment buildup.