Online booking for driving tests

Dubai, Jan 12,2011, (Khaleejtimes): A candidate for a driving licence can now choose the date and place of his/her driving theory or practical test and book appointments online, RTA announced on Tuesday.

The transport authority is also planning to offer the booking services through its toll free call centre 8009090 by the end of next month.

The move comes to ease and streamline the process of scheduling the tests, which met with controversies in the past.

With the new system a candidate doesn't have to approach the driving institute to schedule the tests. The person can log on to the RTA website and choose the date, time and place for the new Knowledge Test that the RTA launched on Tuesday replacing the previously operational Signal Test.

Once the person passes the Knowledge Test, the system will automatically direct the student to his/her traffic file, from where an appointment for the Road Test can be booked.

"We are trying to de-link the driving institutes from the test scheduling process, so that there are no more complaints about the delay in appointments. The institutes have taken a lot of blame in the past and we don't want that to continue. The new system will be good both for the institutes as well as the students," said Ahmed Hashem Bahrozyan, the CEO of RTA's Licensing Agency, announcing the launch of the services along with the Knowledge Test. Talking about the complaints Bahrozyan was alluding to the suspicions of the candidates that the institutes were deliberately delaying the schedule of the tests for their benefit.

Under the system which was operational previously, the institutes were scheduling the road tests for candidates in batches, based on the slots available with them and candidates are usually seen waiting in long queues at the institutes' booking offices to get their appointments.

The booking offices also witness frequent scenes of acrimony over the dates, all of which will change with the new system, offering people liberty and convenience without any additional charges. Talking to Khaleej Times about the initiative, Robert A Hodges, Chief Operating Officer, Emirates Driving Institute, said: "We are happy to know of the new system and we hope this will help us in achieving greater efficiency. Hopefully, we will be able to put the resources currently employed for booking the tests for a more positive use."

He added that the system would also help in balancing the number of tests on each day evenly as well as help clear a lot of doubts.

The system will offer the nearest available slot based on the date and time chosen by the candidate, following which the slot can be booked by paying the usual fee for road test, which is Dh800.

BY : Shafaat Ahmed