Drivers ‘frustrated’ with licence delays

The state of Nelson Tasman’s driver licencing system is in disarray with average wait times of two to three months, cancellation rates soaring, pass rates falling and candidates forced to hit refresh for days to secure a booking.

A spokesperson for NZTA says it is aware of the increased demand for driver testing. They say in the last six months, AA and VTNZ, who deliver driver licence services on behalf of NZTA, have seen a “large increase” in demand for tests.

“There are more tests being booked, and applicants are approaching the tests differently than they have in the past. This has led to demand exceeding testing capacity.”

Jake Goff began checking online as soon as he was eligible to sit his restricted licence back in March. The 16-year-old says he spent weeks hitting refresh online every 30 minutes to an hour until a spot finally became available on 9 April.

Thankfully he passed on his first attempt but is now looking ahead to when he can sit his full licence.

“It was frustrating, there was nothing available in Nelson, Blenheim, Westport, anywhere close. I want to get my full booked in as soon as I can.”

He says many of his friends are still waiting to find an available time.

On 1 October 2023, the Labour government reduced the fee for sitting driver’s licences, saving the average driver $86 when they successfully move through a graduated licencing system.

The fee for resits on practical tests was also removed, which has had the unintended consequence of increasing cancellation rates both locally and nationally, particularly for Class 1 full licence tests.

In the seven months since the cost lowered and resit fees were removed, 628 full class 1 tests were cancelled in Nelson Tasman - 272 more than the same period the year before.

Between 1 October 2022 and 31 May 2023, a total of 988 tests were cancelled in the region, however in the same period the following year, that number rose to 1303.

With just two full-time Driver Testing Officers (DTO) currently for the entire region, one testing for all classes 1-6 and the other testing only 1 and 6 classes, there are not many booking slots to go around, making last-minute cancellations frustrating for those trying to secure a spot.

In the 10 weeks to 10 June, VTNZ Nelson averaged 88 practical tests per week. A spokesperson says VTNZ also has travelling testing officers who work at multiple locations at different times, depending on the demand for testing.

Another 16-year-old who spoke to Nelson Weekly sat her restricted last week after booking it back in March.

“I had to wait a few days for a time to become available and June was the soonest,” she says. “I spent a lot of time on the site trying to get the booking.”

She was also concerned that if she failed, she would have to wait months before she could resit it.

“I took heaps of lessons beforehand because I was so nervous that I’d have to wait so long for another chance.”

It paid off, as she too passed on her first attempt, but many do not have the same success.

During the final three months of 2023, the pass rate of those drivers sitting their restricted licence in the region fell to 53 per cent, in line with the national pass rate of 52 per cent – the lowest it’s been both regionally and nationally in the past two years.

NZTA includes Nelson’s Pascoe St testing site – the only one in the region, with Canterbury for wait time averages.

The week of 10-16 June recorded an average wait time of 53 working days for a Class 1 full test and 64 working days for a restricted, which equates to nearly three months.

The smallest average wait during that week was in Central with 34 and 39 working days wait for full and restricted licences respectively. The largest average wait was in Northland with 67 and 79 working days respectively.

A contractor who works across Nelson Tasman, who asked not to be named, says for a time, he was unable to progress at work because he couldn’t secure a slot to sit his Class 2 full licence in the region, which would enable him to drive more work vehicles.

“I was feeling pressure from my employer to gain my full licence, and the pay rise that came with it was really needed with the cost of living going up, but there were just no slots available. I became quite frustrated.”

He too searched further than Nelson, looking at options in Blenheim, Westport, and even Christchurch with no luck.

Eventually, he says he managed to secure a booking in December for January after checking online multiple times a day for weeks.

NZTA says testing for Class 2-5 licences in Nelson Tasman is only offered two days per month.

Along with VTNZ and AA, NZTA has recently introduced a range of operational initiatives to make sure the system is running as efficiently as possible.

“We’re also working with the Ministry of Transport to consider further options to make sure people progress through their learner and restricted licences. These options will be presented to the Government to consider, and at this stage, no decisions have been made.”