Evening driving tests at 3 tracks in city

NEW DELHI: People in Delhi can now take driving tests for permanent licences in the evening at three automated test tracks, the state transport department said on Wednesday.

The move comes after the Delhi transport department received feedback that the day timings were forcing people to either take a leave of absence from work or plan the test only on the weekends.

For now, the evening driving test facility will be available at the automated driving test tracks (ADTTS) in Shakurbasti, Mayur Vihar and Vishwas Nagar. The night driving test will be held in slots between 5pm and 7pm and 45 appointments will be available daily at each of the three tracks.

Gradually, the facility will be extended to all 12 automated driving test tracks in Delhi and then 3,000 appointment slots will be available a day (both day and evening slots). Currently, 135 tests are being scheduled a day at these three automatic driving test tracks.

HT, on October 18 last year, was the first to report about the Delhi government’s plan to extend the operational hours for driving tests in the city till late evening. It had also announced that driving tests will be conducted on all seven days a week, instead of five, which used to be the practice until then.

“We conducted a successful pilot from the beginning of May and there were some very happy drivers who could save their valuable working hours because of the evening test facility. We’ve already conducted more than 2,500 driving tests in the evening/night shift since May 1,” said transport minister Kailash Gehlot.

“We are constantly monitoring the evening shift and making enhancements such as changes in lighting, camera resolutions, etc., to ensure maximum efficiency. The night testing facility is as good as the daytime one. We’re also adding eight new ADTTS at educational institutions. It is in the tendering stage and will be a major step in decreasing waiting time for taking a test,” he said.

In the pilot that was conducted at the three centres between April 30 and May 24, a total of 2,565 slots were booked at the ADTTS in Shakurbasti, Mayur Vihar and Vishwas Nagar. Of these, 855 tests were conducted in Shakurbasti, and 243 them were in the evening shift, the transport department officials said. Of them, 129 people passed the test while 126 people will have to retake the test.

Similarly, in Mayur Vihar, 855 people booked slots for the driving tests. Of them, 424 appeared for the test and 23 cleared the automatic test, while 192 failed.

A total of 855 people booked slots for the driving test in Vishwas Nagar and 266 appeared for the test. Of them, 149 passed the automatic driving test, while 117 people failed it.

THE FACILITY WILL GRADUALLY BE EXTENDED TO ALL 12 AUTOMATED DRIVING TEST TRACKS IN DELHI