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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Truckers in the territory will soon be able to apply for permits online, once the GNWT establishes a new permitting website.

"The issuers from the permit centre will be able to issue permits live and directly," said Harris Beaulieu, manager of carrier and inspections with the Department of Transportation.

Truckers would be issued a permit number and if stopped on highways, officers could check that number to ensure all requirements were met.

The centre will free up highway officers for their other duties, said Beaulieu.

"The purpose of the permit centre is to alleviate our officers from conducting administrative duties, so they can concentrate on the duties that they are trained for, such as highway patrol, inspection activities and auditing of carriers," said Beaulieu.

Four different types of permits will be available on the site: registration, overweight, over-dimensional and fuel tax permits.

Fuel tax permits will also be offered at the Enterprise scale site.

Al Kaylo, director and registrar of road licensing and safety, said the new system will give truckers the luxury of guaranteeing permits 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"It provides a much higher level of service to them," he said. "From Sunday night in their hotel room, they can get their permit."

Blair Weatherby, president of the NWT Motor Transport Association, said his association has not been consulted about the new system. Contacted by Yellowknifer on Monday, he said that was the first he had heard of the planned permitting website.

"It would be nice if they actually consulted with the trucking association," he said.

Weatherby said he thought the online centre would benefit the bigger trucking outfits, which have office staff. Smaller companies on the other hand would be inconvenienced by the system, he said.

"Now I have to get a laptop to get a permit," said Weatherby, speaking as the operator of a Yellowknife trucking company. He joked that he hates those machines.

The transport association president said he hoped truckers would still be able to call in to get permits. He said that is how he has become accustomed to getting them.

Truckers will still be able to call in for permits through a 1-800 number, Kaylo said, adding that service will also be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Asked whether the call-in number would work as an automated system or would involve speaking with a person, Kaylo responded: "It'll be a body."

The permit centre will finance itself from the service fees it gathers, according to Beaulieu.

"There won't be a cost to the territorial government," he said. "The industry ... will pay the service fee for each permit."

The service is currently out for tender, and it is expected to start running early next year.