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By Chris Brown

Privatizing Road Tests

Province announces new road test system

Oct 22, 2020 | 3:06 PM

The Alberta government is privatizing testing for Class 4, 5 and 6 licences, which it says will repair damage done by the previous NDP government.

Beginning Dec. 1, Albertans will be able to book passenger vehicle road tests directly with local registry agents or through a new online system. Tests under the new system will start to be conducted after Jan. 5, 2021.

The government says the March 2019 move to nationalize the system caused half of the province’s driver examiners to leave the system and increased wait times significantly.

“We know Albertans have been frustrated with long delays to get a road test. Returning to a privately run model will restore a system which Albertans used for years with confidence,” said Transportation Minister Ric McIver.

NDP Transportation Critic Rod Loyola responded to Mciver’s comments, says his government inherited a “broken system” back in 2015.

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“It cost Albertans too much and offered no protections against examiners behaving inappropriately or repeatedly failing new drivers in order to bill them for several tests. We drove down costs and improved service levels, particularly in rural Alberta.

Meantime. Craig Couillard, president, Alberta Association of Registry Agents, says more road test availability, especially in rural Alberta, will help people gain mobility and employment.

Once fully implemented, the transition to a private delivery model will save taxpayers up to $12.1 million per year, says the government.

The province says it has also strengthened oversight through electronic monitoring of each road test in order to ensure safety on Alberta’s roads.

Government driver examiners will continue to conduct Class 1 to 3 commercial truck and bus road tests to ensure a continued smooth transition to the high standards set through the new Mandatory Entry-Level Training program.

(CHAT News Today)