Driver licence test delays affecting job chances in Tairāwhiti

The wait for driver licence tests in Gisborne is at least five weeks, leaving rural East Coast residents trying to enter the workforce in limbo.

One driving instructor called the wait for a practical test, which earlier this week stretched into June, "extraordinary" and said he had not seen it like this in 25 years.

When Mcinnes Driver Training office manager Colin Simpson tried to book practical driving tests in Gisborne last week, no spots were available.

"There wasn't a single booking slot in Gisborne at all, forever," he said.

A week later, Simpson was booking students in for the third week of June, and the following day, a week had opened up in April.

He said that was one of the "frustrating" aspects of the system - it appeared as if not all the available slots were made public.

A spokeswoman for Vehicle Testing New Zealand (VTNZ), which is contracted by Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency to run the service, said the week of slots in April opened up because two new testing officers, who would work in both Gisborne and the Bay of Plenty, completed their training this week.

This meant they could open more slots, but as certification of new testing officers was not guaranteed, and changes to Covid-19 alert levels could impact training, slots could not be opened until certification was complete, she said.

It comes as RNZ revealed in October that Wairoa teenagers were driving illegally because the nearest driver licence testing was in Gisborne or Napier and Hastings.

REAP Tairāwhiti tumuaki executive director Ani Pahuru-Huriwai said they had funding to support 150 rural people to get their driver's licences, but the wait times along with the "random" and "unreliable" booking system were making the process difficult.

"It had gone from a 12-week wait to a 16-week wait, to the other day there were a handful of spaces left for the rest of the year," Pahuru-Huriwai said.

"That's where we are struggling. It is a constant and persistent problem that has existed for the last four years, but now it's just beyond ridiculous.

"That's not just us affected. Everybody who wants to get a licence will struggle to get a test around the country."

NZTA and VTNZ said tests could not be conducted during the countrywide and greater Auckland region lockdowns.

This had resulted in a backlog of more than 42,000 driver tests nationwide, and the flow-on had significantly affected wait times throughout the country.

Pahuru-Huriwai said there were already many barriers and costs to getting a full licence and these were compounded for rural people.

To combat those challenges, the organisation ran a Graduated Driver Licensing programme to support East Coast residents, from as far away as three hours up the Coast, to get their licences.

The programme sought to give people the tools to "go to mahi (work)", as most of Tairāwhiti's primary industries required a driver's licence, she said.

Vanloads of students came down from the coast and rural Tairāwhiti, and each had lessons to familiarise themselves with urban driving, before sitting the practical test.

That required them to be able to book tests.

"It's really putting the brakes on our ability to get our people fully licensed so they can come and contribute well to the growing economy of our region," Pahuru-Huriwai said.

MP, minister approached

Pahuru-Huriwai has written to East Coast MP Kiri Allan whose office confirmed the letter had been forwarded to Transport Minister Michael Wood.

"It's at the stage now where it really does require urgent attention from the government," Pahuru-Huriwai said.

VTNZ operations support manager James Law said they had several initiatives in place to reduce the backlog, but they expected it to continue for some time.

They were doing a recruitment drive to boost the workforce by 10 percent, he said.

This included the two new testing officers who would be available in the Bay of Plenty region and Gisborne.

They had also employed a new trainee testing officer in Gisborne. However, it was not anticipated that they would complete their certification until May.

More frustration over Wairoa situation

Meanwhile, the removal of driver licence testing in Wairoa in 2012 has been criticised by local elected members, with Mayor Craig Little last year saying it was creating a legacy of unlicensed drivers and youths being charged with driver licence related offences.

Wairoa deputy mayor Hine Flood, who is also Te Tumu Hāpori/community education facilitator in Wairoa for Tairāwhiti REAP, said vanloads of Wairoa residents often went north to Gisborne to sit tests and would do their tests one after the other.

"Trying to get back-to-back bookings at the moment is pretty damn near impossible," she said.

"The first booking that our co-associates in Gisborne have tried to find for a group for up the coast is June 9."

She said even finding a booking for one person was a challenge.

"You need to be watching that system, getting your finger ready to go every hour to be able to get an individual in if you're lucky."

NZTA systems integrity senior manager Hayley Evans said Wairoa did not meet the national requirements to run practical driving tests after a revamp of the criteria in 2012.

The restricted licence test was "strengthened" to reduce the risk to safety posed by, and for, young and novice drivers.

This means testing is not able to be held in some centres, like Wairoa, that do not offer the necessary variety of road situations or levels of traffic required by the new restricted test.

"Waka Kotahi is actively engaged with the mayor and deputy mayor of Wairoa on this matter in order for both parties to better understand the circumstances with Wairoa testing suitability and to identify what support is available for the young drivers in their community," Evans said.

The Ministry of Social Development is leading a working group across government to investigate and address barriers to driver licensing access, she said.

Waka Kotahi is working closely with MSD on this review as well as a review of the graduated driver licensing system planned by the Ministry of Transport in 2021.

John Mcinnes of Mcinnes Driver Training in Gisborne said the wait times were unique in his 25 years on the job.

"I've never seen wait times like now. This is quite extraordinary."

He also noted that if someone failed their test, they were back to square one and would be put through the waiting game again.

Mcinnes urged the government to look at the driver licensing system.

Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by RNZ, the News Publishers' Association and NZ On Air