Barbados transportation authorities are executing a comprehensive recovery plan to address significant delays in vehicle registration services stemming from a systemic technical failure last October. Transport Minister Santia Bradshaw confirmed the ongoing efforts during an inspection visit to the Barbados Licensing Authority’s (BLA) headquarters in Pine, St. Michael.
The operational crisis emerged on October 20 when the BLA’s legacy registration platform experienced catastrophic failure, necessitating complete system replacement. This disruption halted all vehicle-related services for nearly a week, prompting the November rollout of an entirely new digital platform that requires extensive staff training.
Minister Bradshaw acknowledged particular challenges affecting existing vehicle owners: “We had numerous complaints from persons who already had vehicles… they couldn’t complete registrations because the system couldn’t access their historical data.” The technical breakdown created a mounting backlog of pending inspections and certificate issuances that continues to impact residents.
To accelerate resolution, the BLA has deployed a multi-faceted approach including recruitment of additional staff and engagement of retired licensing officers familiar with agency operations. These experienced former employees are assisting with customer service and data entry while receiving training on the new system during weekend and after-hours sessions to minimize service disruption.
Minister Bradshaw emphasized the critical importance of data accuracy during the manual information transfer process, noting that both the Ministry’s IT team and specialists from the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Smart Technology (MIST) have dedicated personnel working exclusively on system troubleshooting. “We’ve actually rebuilt the system with four additional technical staff, and MIST has assigned a dedicated team specifically for licensing issues,” Bradshaw stated.
While no definitive completion date has been announced, the Minister indicated that phased training and continuous system improvements are expected to gradually resolve the backlog, with a progress update anticipated within the coming week. The situation has caused considerable public frustration, with many residents paying insurance premiums on vehicles they cannot legally operate due to registration delays.