Latest news with #drivingtests
ABC News
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- ABC News
WA government to spend $4 million on new driver licensing centre to reduce significant wait times
It's hoped the construction of a new driver's licensing centre in Perth's south-east can make a dent in the significant wait times for people obtaining their permits across the city. The state government will spend $4 million on a new centre to service growing demand in the Armadale and Byford areas as part of an election commitment, but it is yet to determine the exact location. Locals must currently travel 30 to 40 minutes to access licensing services at centres in Cannington or Success. Driving services in WA have come under fire in recent years, following reports of participants having to wait months to sit a driving test. The Department of Transport was also forced to tighten security around test booking systems, following reports of people bulk booking and reselling test appointments. Assistant Transport Minister Jessica Stojkovski said progress had been made to address the concerns. 'One of the issues that we were finding were essentially bots were going on and booking up a lot of the driver assessment time slots,' she said. 'There's been a lot work done by the Department of Transport to stop that practice. 'We have actually seen really good availability around the metro area and into the regions for those driver assessments.' The Department of Transport's Chad Simeons agreed, saying it was possible to find test appointments within a week of booking. 'We've opened the Joondalup Centre which is a driver assessment centre, so that's helped a lot,' he said. 'We've put on new driver assessors as well, and in fact if I was to log on now and try and get a practical driving assessment, I can get one within a week, permitted I want to travel anywhere in the metropolitan area.' It's in addition to extended trading hours at the Cannington, Mirrabooka and City West centres, which will be open from 7.15am to 5.30pm on weekdays during an eight-week trial. No additional staff will be employed to accommodate the two-hour extension, but about 40 new positions have been created to assist with the increase in service demand. The same three centres last year completed a six-day trading trial with more than 12,800 people making use of the weekend hours. Mr Simeons said measures to relieve pressure on the industry have reduced average customer wait times from 26 minutes to 19 minutes in the past 12 months. Ms Stojkovski said an increase in interstate migration had contributed to the boom in demand. 'When somebody comes here from interstate they do actually need to transfer over their driver's licence,' she said. She said the state government would consider implementing extended hours elsewhere in WA as part of the trial evaluation. A construction or project completion date has yet to be set for the new licensing centre.
BBC News
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Driving test backlog making it 'impossible' for learners to book
Learner drivers in the West say they are resorting to using expensive cancellation websites in a desperate attempt to book their tests. With the official routes for booking tests oversubscribed, the BBC has been told that companies are block-booking appointments and selling them on to people unable to find a Bodkin, 24, from Cheltenham, said it was "impossible" to get a test through the official Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) website, and she and many of her peers had turned to the private apps as a last Ryder, DVSA chief executive, said the organisation had been working "tirelessly" to address the issues and reduce driving test waiting times. These unofficial companies will use the applicants' driving licence number to reserve a bulk amount of test appointments until they can resell them at a higher license number will then be changed to match the buyers'. Using these sites is what allows automated bots to exploit the driving test booking service, by getting users to provide the necessary details the companies need to hold the leaves those who are ready to take their test struggling to find one at a date and time of their choice. Nearly 27,000 people responded to a call for evidence from the DVSA between December and February. Of those, 93.1% said they had struggled with a lack of suitable test appointment slots. Ms Bodkin, who recently finished university and works as a freelance journalist for the BBC, said she had booked a test in October 2024 for March 2025, but had failed. "I waited until I felt like I was ready to book a test, which I think was probably not the right thing to do - I should have booked it ages ago," she said. With the end of her university in sight she put rebooking her test "on the back burner", only to find later that there were no tests available through the DVSA in Cheltenham or Gloucester until 2026. "Everyone is recommending the apps, which I know is the thing that is causing all the issues, but also I don't really want to be left behind when everyone is doing it," she added. With booking tests on the DVSA website "impossible", she said, her and her peers have been left "constantly checking" the apps for cancellations. The pressure of knowing another test would likely be a long way off if she failed "definitely added" to her nerves, Ms Bodkin said. Russell Marchant, who runs Bubble Driving School inSomerset, said many learners will cancel lessons to save money while they wait for their test. But this risks them forgetting what they have learnt and feeling unprepared when the time finally comes, he added."As soon as someone starts in the car, as soon as they've passed their theory, we encourage them to try and get a test booked because we know it's going to be six months down the line."Mr Merchant blames the Covid-19 pandemic for the mounting backlog, as postponed tests were continually added to the waiting list. "[there were] Four lockdowns and in all of them the DVSA were not testing," he explained."That caused a lot of instructors to find other jobs. We had examiners leave the industry and not come back." However, Ms Ryder told the BBC the DVSA had been "making good progress" on a plan to bring down waiting times, which was announced in December 2024. "[Our] goal is to make booking a driving test easier and fairer for everyone while preventing excessive charges for learner drivers," she added.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
'I am stuck,' says mum facing driving test delays
Calls have been made for additional driving examiners to be recruited in west Cornwall so more tests can be provided. The test centre in Penzance, which has been closed since April for maintenance, has only operated for two days a week since the pandemic. Learner drivers and instructors said it meant tests were hard to come by in a rural area where being able to drive was vital. Rosanna Allen, from The Lizard peninsula, said: "My son's only two and I would love to be able to just take him to the park... I feel a lot of guilt." The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) said it was recruiting more examiners but it did not currently have the capacity to increase testing in Penzance. More news stories for Cornwall Listen to the latest news for Cornwall Ms Allen said she had her test cancelled when the centre shut temporarily and it was proving costly. "A large chunk of what I earn is going into driving lessons," she said. "Now I'm having to wait an extra eight weeks, that's another several hundred of pounds on more lessons, and so it's really just frustrating I'm having to wait so long." She said not been able to drive was extremely limiting. "My son's only two and I would love to be able to just take him to the park, see his grandparents, or to the doctors," she said. "I feel a lot of guilt I can't do those simple things for him. "I am stuck, and I think the DVSA just seem to disregard the massive impact that not driving has on a lot of people in rural areas." The Penzance centre was due to reopen next month, staffed on a part-time basis by examiners from Camborne. Instructor Mark Squire wanted more examiners to be hired so the centre could operate full time. "If we were open another day and then gradually got it back to normal we could start to clear the backlog," he said. "We all know how nerve-racking it is taking a test and if you end up in an area that you've not learnt, that's even more nerve-racking." DVSA figures for April showed waiting times to book a test in Cornwall were about 24 weeks. The government pledged to recruit an extra 450 examiners to bring average waiting times down to seven weeks by the end of the year. Andrew George, Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives, said a driver's licence was fundamental for people to access work and education. He called on the government to make a "significant increase" in new examiners in west Cornwall. "I'm pleased they see there is a problem, but I wish they would actually address it in areas like ours so we get parity with the rest of the country," he said. "On a peninsula you can't go north, south, or west to be able to take up opportunities at other test centres. "We need to have a greater resource to maintain shorter waiting periods for tests." The DVSA said it kept its centres under review but it did not have the resources to increase the number of tests in Penzance. Pauline Reeves, director of driver services, said: "Since December, we've made significant progress on implementing our plan to reduce waiting times. But we know that our customers are not seeing the immediate effects of the measures. "The further action which the Secretary of State announced will help us to accelerate those measures, including expanding training capacity for newly recruited driving examiners so more of them can start carrying out driving tests sooner." Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ 10,000 extra driving tests a month to clear backlog Three quarters of driving test centres at maximum wait time Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
'I am stuck,' says mum facing driving test delays
Calls have been made for additional driving examiners to be recruited in west Cornwall so more tests can be provided. The test centre in Penzance, which has been closed since April for maintenance, has only operated for two days a week since the pandemic. Learner drivers and instructors said it meant tests were hard to come by in a rural area where being able to drive was vital. Rosanna Allen, from The Lizard peninsula, said: "My son's only two and I would love to be able to just take him to the park... I feel a lot of guilt." The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) said it was recruiting more examiners but it did not currently have the capacity to increase testing in Penzance. More news stories for Cornwall Listen to the latest news for Cornwall Ms Allen said she had her test cancelled when the centre shut temporarily and it was proving costly. "A large chunk of what I earn is going into driving lessons," she said. "Now I'm having to wait an extra eight weeks, that's another several hundred of pounds on more lessons, and so it's really just frustrating I'm having to wait so long." She said not been able to drive was extremely limiting. "My son's only two and I would love to be able to just take him to the park, see his grandparents, or to the doctors," she said. "I feel a lot of guilt I can't do those simple things for him. "I am stuck, and I think the DVSA just seem to disregard the massive impact that not driving has on a lot of people in rural areas." The Penzance centre was due to reopen next month, staffed on a part-time basis by examiners from Camborne. Instructor Mark Squire wanted more examiners to be hired so the centre could operate full time. "If we were open another day and then gradually got it back to normal we could start to clear the backlog," he said. "We all know how nerve-racking it is taking a test and if you end up in an area that you've not learnt, that's even more nerve-racking." DVSA figures for April showed waiting times to book a test in Cornwall were about 24 weeks. The government pledged to recruit an extra 450 examiners to bring average waiting times down to seven weeks by the end of the year. Andrew George, Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives, said a driver's licence was fundamental for people to access work and education. He called on the government to make a "significant increase" in new examiners in west Cornwall. "I'm pleased they see there is a problem, but I wish they would actually address it in areas like ours so we get parity with the rest of the country," he said. "On a peninsula you can't go north, south, or west to be able to take up opportunities at other test centres. "We need to have a greater resource to maintain shorter waiting periods for tests." The DVSA said it kept its centres under review but it did not have the resources to increase the number of tests in Penzance. Pauline Reeves, director of driver services, said: "Since December, we've made significant progress on implementing our plan to reduce waiting times. But we know that our customers are not seeing the immediate effects of the measures. "The further action which the Secretary of State announced will help us to accelerate those measures, including expanding training capacity for newly recruited driving examiners so more of them can start carrying out driving tests sooner." Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ 10,000 extra driving tests a month to clear backlog Three quarters of driving test centres at maximum wait time Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency
BBC News
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Cornwall driving test delays leave mum feeling stuck
Calls have been made for additional driving examiners to be recruited in west Cornwall so more tests can be test centre in Penzance, which has been closed since April for maintenance, has only operated for two days a week since the pandemic. Learner drivers and instructors said it meant tests were hard to come by in a rural area where being able to drive was vital. Rosanna Allen, from The Lizard peninsula, said: "My son's only two and I would love to be able to just take him to the park... I feel a lot of guilt."The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) said it was recruiting more examiners but it did not currently have the capacity to increase testing in Penzance. Ms Allen said she had her test cancelled when the centre shut temporarily and it was proving costly."A large chunk of what I earn is going into driving lessons," she said."Now I'm having to wait an extra eight weeks, that's another several hundred of pounds on more lessons, and so it's really just frustrating I'm having to wait so long."She said not been able to drive was extremely limiting."My son's only two and I would love to be able to just take him to the park, see his grandparents, or to the doctors," she said."I feel a lot of guilt I can't do those simple things for him."I am stuck, and I think the DVSA just seem to disregard the massive impact that not driving has on a lot of people in rural areas." The Penzance centre was due to reopen next month, staffed on a part-time basis by examiners from Camborne. Instructor Mark Squire wanted more examiners to be hired so the centre could operate full time."If we were open another day and then gradually got it back to normal we could start to clear the backlog," he said."We all know how nerve-racking it is taking a test and if you end up in an area that you've not learnt, that's even more nerve-racking." DVSA figures for April showed waiting times to book a test in Cornwall were about 24 government pledged to recruit an extra 450 examiners to bring average waiting times down to seven weeks by the end of the year. Andrew George, Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives, said a driver's licence was fundamental for people to access work and called on the government to make a "significant increase" in new examiners in west Cornwall."I'm pleased they see there is a problem, but I wish they would actually address it in areas like ours so we get parity with the rest of the country," he said."On a peninsula you can't go north, south, or west to be able to take up opportunities at other test centres."We need to have a greater resource to maintain shorter waiting periods for tests." 'Significant progress' The DVSA said it kept its centres under review but it did not have the resources to increase the number of tests in Reeves, director of driver services, said: "Since December, we've made significant progress on implementing our plan to reduce waiting times. But we know that our customers are not seeing the immediate effects of the measures."The further action which the Secretary of State announced will help us to accelerate those measures, including expanding training capacity for newly recruited driving examiners so more of them can start carrying out driving tests sooner."
