Covid-19 impacts licence centres

LEARNER drivers are among those impacted by the closure of eight licence testing centres.

Cape Town City Traffic Service spokesperson Maxine Bezuidenhout said that the affected facilities were Goodwood, Lingelethu West, Bellrail in Bellville, Gallows Hill, Fish Hoek, Kuilsriver, Somerset West and Gordon’s Bay, and that Brackenfell was open for card collections only.

“The buildings are being deepcleaned and operations will resume as soon as this is done, and sufficient staff members are available to resume their duties. The City apologises for any inconvenience,” she said.

She said while every effort was being made to avoid the transmission of the virus at the facilities through a range of measures that had been implemented, this was no guarantee against Covid-19 exposure.

“Persons whose learner and driving licence tests have been impacted by the closures will be contacted by the respective driving licence testing centre for alternative test dates,” she said.

A motorist, who asked to remain anonymous, said he had been trying to renew his vehicle’s licence disc at the Kuils River centre since last week.

“The queues are always long; I am not surprised that it has been closed. I hope the City can make arrangements in terms of separating days when people can go for their different issues to avoid the influx.

“While we appreciate the efforts by the City to keep us safe, we don’t want to get on the wrong side of the law because of expired licences and licence discs,” he said.

Khayelitsha Development Forum chairperson Ndithini Tyhido said they hoped motorists would make use of the grace period given by the transport minister and avoid long queues. “Motorists must give each other a chance and avoid long queues, because they are a breeding ground for the virus,” he said.