Aucklanders are facing monthslong waits and some are having to travel far out of town to sit their driving tests amid a massive backlog.
Brayden Harrison recently got his full licence but endured a four-month wait and a drive from Auckland to Thames so he could sit the test.
“I checked North Shore, East, West, and South and couldn’t get anything,” he said.
“It was a long, long process.”
Keen to get a full licence so he could drive at night after a work shift, he checked for a test slot every day.
“And every day, it was just nothing, nothing, nothing,” he said.
“It seems ridiculous you have to go all the way from Auckland to Thames, to another small town where you’ve never driven before.”
The Transport Agency said the previous government making re-sit tests free is partly to blame.
“Yes, free resits certainly didn’t help,” NZTA’s Chris Rodley said.
“We hear of stories of people having to go to other towns out of Auckland which is very frustrating for people, we understand,” he said.
Immigration is another factor, with about 70% of full licence tests in Auckland going to people new to the country.
NZTA recently posted to social media urging people to cancel tests if they couldn’t make it so spots could be freed up for others.
The Government largely scrapped the previous government’s free re-sits in July and while wait times are dropping, a big backlog remains.
Waits going down but still high in Auckland
Across the country 18,703 people sat 23,174 tests for a full licence in September.
A further 12,799 people sat 14,235 restricted licence tests.
Nationally, the wait for a full licence test dropped from 52.3 days in March to 34.8 days in October.
For a restricted test, the wait reduced from 59.7 days in March to 45.8 days in October.
But in Auckland, the latest available figures show a 58-day wait for a full licence test, down from 73 days.
The wait for a restricted test in the Auckland was 72 days, down from 81.
The transport agency said this was still “far too long”.
It said extra testing spots have been added in the city to help with demand, and there are now 14 sites.
There are also 82 testing officers in Auckland, up from 68 in February, with a further 17 set to finish their training to work in Auckland soon.
VTNZ said wait times are dropping due to an increase in the number of testing officers. The company said it has almost a third more testing officers now than in October 2021.
“VTNZ will continue to increase driver testing hours and the number of driver testing officers where possible,” it said in a statement.
NZTA said testing numbers have never been this high.
“So, we are seeing improvements, especially nationally,” Rodley said.
But he said Auckland was “definitely our problem child”.
“The wait times issue is an agency priority and we’re throwing everything behind solving this problem,” he said.
An incentive to pass
Harrison said his test in Thames took about 20 minutes but it was good to finally be able to do one.
His father went on the journey with him.
“I thought if I went all the way down there and I didn’t pass on my first try, I would have been devastated,” he said.
“The instructor actually did mention to me, ‘you’ve come all the way from Auckland, you’ve got to pass now’.
“So it sort of incentivised me to make sure I passed on that first try.”
Harrison is now a full licence holder.
Minister wants waits to drop further
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is all too aware of ongoing long waits to get a driver’s licence test in Auckland.
His own sister opted to drive to Rotorua to sit hers because of the ongoing delays.
While wait times are slowly and consistently improving, they are still too high for the Government’s liking.
“It needs to come down even further,” he said.
Changes are now underway, including extending the time overseas drivers have before they need to convert their licence from November.
While the “plan is working”, the Government has “got some ways to go”, he said.
Brown said the Government was working constantly with NZTA and further actions would be considered if needed.
“The number one thing, though, is having more driving training officers because ultimately, that makes more spaces available,” he said.
A1 Driving School instructor Harald Leeuwenburgh said some of his students have outright had their tests cancelled.
“Which is really frustrating because if people are ready, you really want to sit that test as soon as possible,” he said.
“And yeah, that doesn’t happen at the moment, unfortunately.”
Leeuwenburgh said he believes the backlog will take another “six months before this could become normal again”.
The furthest one of his Auckland students has had to drive was Whangārei.
He said instructors had noticed some students were not prepared for their tests.
“I would say to people, make sure you prepare – don’t just go and book a test or sit a test but actually prepare yourself properly,” he said.
“Get lots of hours under your belt.”
Advice from NZTA
“The advice is a little bit frustrating, but keep checking our booking website, people do cancel slots and they do pop up,” Rodley said.
He urged people to also be prepared.
“The more preparation you do, the less number of times you’re needing to re-sit, which of course is taking up testing slots from other people.”
