Months-long waits for driver tests are an "intolerable" hold-up, according to South Wairarapa's Mayor, who is demanding a quicker turnaround for learner drivers as the number waiting across the country sits at about 40,000.
![Mākoura College students watch a safety demonstration during a RYDA [Road Safety Education] workshop at Solway Showgrounds, Masterton. Students at the school, and other Wairarapa leaner drivers, are waiting up to three months to get a restricted licence test. SINGLE USE ONLY.](https://media.rnztools.nz/rnz/image/upload/s--oyLsd7MU--/c_scale,f_auto,q_auto,w_1050/v1644406183/4MDWLFZ_copyright_image_257455?_a=BACCd2AD)
Mākoura College students watch a safety demonstration during a RYDA [Road Safety Education] workshop at Solway Showgrounds, Masterton. Students at the school, and other Wairarapa leaner drivers, are waiting up to three months to get a restricted licence test. Photo: WAIRARAPA TIMES-AGE / MARCUS ANSELM
Alex Beijen joined Sandra Goudie, his counterpart in Thames-Coromandel, in demanding a quicker turnaround for learner drivers.
The queue to take a test rose to 42,000 across New Zealand, with wait times of more than 100 days at Masterton's Vehicle Testing New Zealand [VTNZ] centre, the closest testing centre for Masterton and Carterton districts and most of South Wairarapa district.
In a letter to Transport Minister Michael Wood, Goudie said learners in her district had to wait weeks to take a test.
"Being able to drive is vital to people in rural/provincial communities such as ours.
"We have a window of opportunity for our at-risk young people, and we see any delay to equip them to be able to pursue employment and improve themselves is potentially an opportunity lost."
Goudie wanted Wood to arrange financial support for the industry to clear the backlog.
Last week, Local Democracy Reporting found that the wait for tests in Gisborne was at least five weeks.
The problem is even more acute in Wairarapa's districts. The situation has worsened since the turn of the year when people were waiting weeks for a conclusion.
The station will conduct about 5000 tests in a typical year, including about 1500 restricted drivers licence tests.
This year, it has its first openings in June, a wait of more than three months. Last year saw a drop in numbers due to lockdown and subsequent Covid-19 prevention measures.
The impasse has exacerbated existing issues for rural people seeking mobility, Beijen said.
He said a lack of licensing was "usually the first instance of contact between the criminal justice system and youth".
"In South Wairarapa, we are continuing with efforts to have youth licensed to avoid this and provide them with access to employment.
"To find that there is a three-month wait to sit any form of practical test, and if they do not pass, an additional three-month wait is intolerable and undermines many people's work in this area.
"In the South Wairarapa, access to public transport is at a level way below that of urban residents, and choices for transport or cycling for anyone without a license mean the impact is much greater than other areas."
Therese King, Mākoura College, career advisor, said licensing was essential to some students' work opportunities.
The Masterton high school looks to ensure all its pupils get their learners' licence on or about their 16th birthday and aims to help all Year 13 students pass their full test by the time they leave.
"With the delay, we have some kids who have been on their learners for more than a year now because we haven't been able to send them out to practice driving."
She said lockdowns had made waits much worse.
"There were still delays before Covid-19, but they're worse now. It was great for fighting the virus, but it just created a whole period of time where people were booked in, and it causes a domino effect, which affects everybody.
"They need more testing officers here. That would alleviate all the problems and clear the backlog."
VTNZ was privatised in 1999 and bought by the Motor Transport Association [MTA], which sold 60 percent of shares to German vehicle inspectors DEKRA in 2013.
It has managed practical driver testing since 2014, on contract from Waka Kotahi/NZTA.
VTNZ operations support manager James Law said VTNZ carried out about 25,000 driver tests nationwide per month before last year's lockdown.
He said Covid-19 safety measures slowed down progress and caused a jam in the system.
VTNZ is looking to manage the build-up by recruiting and training new driver testing officers [DTOs], which takes 22 weeks to complete.
The latest DTO training course is due to be completed in the first week of April.
"We anticipate new slots in Masterton will open up following that," he said.
"As certification is not guaranteed, and changes to alert levels can impact training, further testing slots cannot be opened until these new DTOs are certified."
Hayley Evans, the senior manager systems integrity at Waka Kotahi/NZTA, said the delays were "frustrating" compared to the usual 30-day wait time to book and site a test.
"We know these delays can be frustrating. We're working hard to reduce these wait times, and we encourage learner and restricted drivers to keep practising as they wait for their test bookings."
Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by RNZ, the News Publishers' Association and NZ On Air.
