No rush to driving schools for Class-4 licences, yet
The rush for Class-4 driver’s licences hasn’t started yet, but driving schools and the province’s car insurance provider will be ready when it does.
Ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft will be able to apply to the Passenger Transportation Board for permission to operate in B.C. beginning on Sept. 3, and new regulations on licensing and insurance will go into effect on Sept. 16.
Driving for a ride-hailing company will require a Class-4 licence, criminal-record checks and annual driving record checks. B.C. and Alberta will be the only jurisdictions in Canada to require commercial licences for ride-hailing drivers.
“I think once they realize you need a Class-4 for (ride-hailing), there will be more people coming out to get their Class-4,” said Mark Anderson, the owner and chief instructor at West Coast Driver Training and Education on Vancouver Island.
Anderson said he has had several calls about Class-4 instruction, but no bookings yet.
According to the latest Insurance Corp. of B.C. statistics, in 2017 there were 2.6 million British Columbians with active Class-5 licences, and 43,000 with Class-4 licences.
There are two kinds of Class-4 licences in B.C.: restricted and unrestricted. The difference is that an unrestricted licence will allow the driver to operate larger vehicles, such as buses that carry up to 25 people (including the driver).
The knowledge test is the same for both types of Class-4 licence, however the type of licence a driver gets depends on what kind of vehicle they use for their road test. Someone who brings a five-passenger car will get a restricted licence, while someone who uses a 15-person van will get an unrestricted licence.
Anderson expects that most people will simply use their own personal vehicles and go for the restricted licence rather than unrestricted.
“I could be wrong, but if they’re just doing Uber at this point, I don’t see Uber doing 24-passenger buses, so I don’t see the need for unrestricted,” he said.
To upgrade to a Class-4 driver’s licence, someone must be 19 years or older, have a full Class-5 or Class-6 licence or equivalent, have paid all fines and debts to ICBC, pass a medical exam, and provide three years of driving records. The records must have fewer than four offences that resulted in penalty points and have no driving-related criminal convictions.
Getting a Class-4 licence is a two-step process. First, a driver must get a learner’s licence, which involves a knowledge test, road signs test and meeting medical standards.
The licence is valid for one year, but a person is eligible to take a road test as soon as they have passed their knowledge test. They do not need to display an “L” on their vehicle.
A commercial road test includes a pre-trip inspection, road test and medical exam.
“The road exam is much more stringent. They’re not allowed as many mistakes as they do in a (Class-5) road test,” said Paul Massicotte, an instructor with North Shore Driving School.
ICBC has not seen an increase in Class-4 knowledge testing this year, or since last week’s announcement.
“We’re prepared and monitoring the demand for Class-4 testing,” said spokesperson Lindsay Wilkins.
“If the demand increases, we will increase the number of available Class-4 road test appointments to support the additional demand.”
Wilkins said “there are multiple road test appointments available within the next 30 days throughout the province.”
Fees for getting a Class-4 licence include $15 for the knowledge test, $40 for the road test, a $28 medical exam processing fee, and $17 for a duplicate licence.
Driver training is not required, but out of the hundreds of ICBC licensed or registered driving schools in the province, about 60 offer training for Class-4.
The cost of a Class-4 unrestricted training course is about $500, and for restricted lessons, the cost varies depending on the length of the lesson, but is about $90 to $100 for an hour.
Massicotte said the Class-4 unrestricted driver training focuses on defensive driving, and is more involved than the restricted training. For both unrestricted and restricted, instructors spend time breaking drivers’ bad habits, such as rough braking. He said both training courses involve going over pre-trip exams to make sure vehicles are in safe working order.
Massicotte said he doesn’t know whether interest has increased, but he has been teaching no more Class-4 lessons than usual recently.
“Unless the mindset changes a bit, I’m not expecting any influx at this time, but if there is, we’ll probably try to be a little more prepared for it,” he said.
Heidi Bali, a relief manager at Valley Driving School, said the business has had “quite a bit of interest” in Class-4 licences lately and classes are full with seven people from their school doing the road test with ICBC each week.
However, she said it is hard to know why people are looking to upgrade their licence and whether it has anything to do with the ride-hailing regulations.