NEWS Technical gremlins have caused the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's (DVLA) new online vehicle licensing service to crash under the high volume of users trying to renew their tax discs.
The DVLA site has been struggling to cope with the number of users for the last couple of days while those phoning up instead have been met with a recorded message citing "circumstances beyond our control".
One silicon.com reader said he had been trying for two days without success to renew his tax disc online. The site spluttered all morning today before crashing completely just before lunchtime.
The home page is now displaying the message: "I am sorry the service is currently unavailable due to essential maintenance."
The message advises people to try a local licence-issuing Post Office instead.
The site is part of the DVLA's electronic vehicle relicensing project aimed at meeting the government's target of putting services online by 2005.
It is also one of the first projects to be delivered using using a joint DVLA and IBM team. It was based on a business case estimating a take-up rate of 39 per cent and it is estimated that when it is fully available it will handle up to 39 million re-licensing transactions a year over the internet and phone.
The service currently links to the motor insurance database to validate insurance and will shortly involve linking to a number of other external databases including the new MOT computerisation database and the Department for Work and Pensions’ Veterans Agency disability allowance databases.
A spokesman for the DVLA said the site has been experiencing technical difficulties and that it is being investigated with the "highest priority".
"Whilst acknowledging the difficulties and apologising to those customers affected, over 30,000 people have successfully transacted using the new service this month," he said.
Comments
There are 16 comments. Join the discussion
1. Roger Huffadine
Unforgivable
Another example of central government IT ineptitude.
I'm sure that somewhere too lowly to have any influence there were techies saying "if you go live now it will crash".
2. dennis armstrong
The government should close the whole Road Tax system down and levy a Tax charge on the price of petrol so that if cars use more petrol thay pay more Tax.
Why are drivers that only do 5,000 miles a year pay the same Tax as a driver that does 50,000 miles a year, the driver doing 50,000 miles a year is costing more to support and is inflicting more wear and tear on roads than the 5,000 miles a year driver.
3. Ruth
Another great production from the Laurel & Hardy of the IT world - government IT. First the IR site, now the DVLA site.... Luckily for them, they don't have to work in the real world of commercial IT.
4. gareth ball
what does Mr Armstrong propose for the HGV's which deliver our food and other goods. They travel up to 100,000 miles a year. They would end up paying 10 times the duty they do now and it would be passed on to us in price increases in our goods.
5. David Manford
Bodes well for ID cards!
6. anonymous
At the end of January I tried three times to renew my motorcycle tax online only to get to the final payment stage IE Payment!!! the system then crashed!!! I the tried to go back online only to be told that a two hour delay was needed, I did however manage to renew over the phone link after finally speaking to a real life english operator
7. Nick Cole
Has nobody ever heard of load testing?
It is time that people who have some lifetime engineering experience ran these projects instead of wet behind the ears school-kids.
How about paper testing the processes, and checking all the interconnecting services and do some real calculations on demand and the impact that has on all the peripheral parts? How about doing all that, and then revalidating the design to ensure that that it is likely to meet expectations? And after all that do it again a couple of times with independent vetting? Why not make sure everything works before making it go live? Aa-and again, try building it to workable deadlines instead of what was presumably a get it done asp political imperative.
Oh and while they are at it stop using wet, behind the ears school kids (I know I have repeated that bit). There is no substitute for experience.
8. Wendy Hepburn
With respect to Mr Armstrong - What he is asking for is already in place..
The drivers doing the 50,000 miles are paying more tax, every time they fill up with fuel..
9. anonymous
What a shame - I had a very good experience when I renewed my tax online on the 15th/Feb. Sounds like they could have done with some realistic load testing before going live. Although if they've only processed 30,000 transactions, perhaps volume isn't the problem
10. anonymous
(1) There aren't many businesses that have as many customers as the DVLA will have - every vehicle owner in the country? What commercial IT systems have to handle that?
(2) Cut food miles - shop local!
11. anonymous
With respect to a previous comment, the volume of 'customers' that DVLA has does not come close to the BT, Vodaphone, etc volumes due to the relatively small number of people that deal with the government online. And why dont they? Quite simply Quality of Service is laughable and therefore off-putting. I have given up trying to interact with UK Govt electronically.
I agree with previous comments concerning the political pressures to force systems online according to fixed timescale agendas and the use of inexperienced staff deployed by the IT companies to ensure on-the-job training paid and the best possible margins on their government contracts.
12. anonymous
These are the people want to give us national identity cards!!!!!
Sounds like another fiasco like the passport agency,income support,single parent fiasco they are throwing our money at idiots!
13. anonymous
I used this same service to relicense my car, and was very pleased with the service I received. Hopefully things will be rectified soon.
14. Steve Webb
The varied rate road tax should be replaced by a single admin fee, with regular free updates on the owner/insurance/MoT situation via the post or online. Your registration plate then becomes the checkable identifier. If you average out the current road tax charges, it probably only just pays for the admin anyway (we all know it costs about £50 just to process an order in a large company). There is an argument that says newer vehicles should have a lower admin fee as they don't require the MoT test and all the palava that goes with it...
15. anonymous
How can anyone in their right mind trust this crappy system to securely look after their debit card details. It has taken me 27 minutes to get from the first screen to the second one only to be timed out.......
16. Wilson Young
I'm normally very sceptical of these grand Government IT schemes, especially the ID card and the NHS ones.
However...............
I tried this on Thursday June 1st (presumably a very busy day for them) at 8.00pm
Took me about three minutes.
My disc arrived in the post on Saturday.
Seems they have got something right