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At the end of January 2024, the old, blue paper driving licenses will expire. In the Basel area, so many have applied for a new one that there are now weeks of waiting.
More than 30,000 Basel bidders are still on the road with a paper driving licence. This is expected to be valid until the end of January 2024, after which a plastic ID card in credit card format will be mandatory, according to the federal government.
The Baselbieter Motorfahrzeugkontrolle MFK therefore launched an appeal last October and asked all owners of such old driving licenses to have a new one issued.
The volume is so large that waiting times can be up to five weeks.
3000 followed this call. These bring the MFK to the stop. Due to the number of IDs submitted, it now takes up to a month for the new ticket to be issued, says Pascal Donati, head of the Baselbieter MFK: “The volume is so large that the waiting times can be up to five weeks.” MFK even created an additional position.
Legend:
Symbolic picture: The delays at the Basel bidder MFK are causing uncertainty among many Basel bidders.
KEYSTONE / GAETAN BALLY
The fact that many people have not received a new driver’s license for several weeks would have caused uncertainty, especially among older drivers, says Donati. However, he reassured: “You really don’t have to worry. The authorization to drive remains in place, of course.” The Basel bidder MFK is working flat out to issue the new ID cards in a timely manner.
Traveling abroad could become a problem
Especially in the Basel region, where trips to neighboring countries are part of everyday life, a missing driving license could lead to problems. Without a valid driver’s license, you are not allowed to drive outside the country’s borders. Anyone who has not made a copy of their old driver’s license risks a fine in this case.
Although the Basel bidder MFK offers a solution for trips abroad, it is cumbersome. On request, a written confirmation with a copy of the blue ID card can be issued. With these documents you can also drive abroad without a driver’s license, it says on request. Only: How long it takes for this document to be issued is unknown.
(Yet) no rush in Bern or Zurich
In the cantons of Bern and Zurich, where significantly more blue driving licenses are in circulation than in the canton of Basel-Landschaft, the rush is significantly lower. There are no problems with long waiting times, according to the Zurich Canton Road Traffic Office.
It’s the same in the canton of Bern, where around 70,000 old driver’s licenses are still in circulation. This is probably due to the fact that the canton’s Road Traffic and Shipping Office has not yet written to the owners directly. “We inform customers via our website or at trade fairs such as the Heso in Solothurn or the Bea in Bern,” says Martin Bruder, head of the Administrative Traffic Safety department at the Bern Road Traffic Office. Further communication steps are being planned.
Old ID still valid?
There is no reason to rush in the canton of Bern. On the one hand, because in April 2023 a new, forgery-proof ID card in credit card format will be introduced throughout Switzerland. On the other hand, the federal government intends to extend the exchange period for the blue ID card to the end of October 2024. The Federal Council will decide on the extension in the first quarter of 2023.