DVSA reducing waiting times by ending Taxi Tests

Reducing waiting times: DVSA’s taxi driver assessments to end

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency sent this bulletin at 07-09-2016 04:43 PM BST

Reducing waiting times: DVSA’s taxi driver assessments to end

From 31 December 2016 DVSA will no longer be offering a taxi driver assessment service.

We are committed to reducing waiting times for car practical driving tests.

To help us to reduce these, we’ve reviewed all our services and have decided to stop offering taxi driver assessments from 31 December 2016.

We currently provide this service to local authorities. We have contacted them to suggest alternative providers, such as road safety charities or representative bodies of driving instructors.

The driving test is celebrating its 80th birthday

The first person to pass the driving test back in 1935 was a Mr R Beere - who paid the equivalent of just 37.5p for his test. Current price is £62.00

In 1935 there were just 1.5 million cars in use, but over 7,000 people were killed on the country’s roads. However, within a year of the introduction of the test, the number of deaths had fallen by 1,000. There were no test centres in 1935 so you had to arrange to meet the examiner somewhere like a post office, train station or town hall