Temporary DriveTest Centres coming soon to Mississauga, Hamilton and elsewhere to address backlog
Published August 4, 2021 at 2:13 pm
The Province announced on Wednesday (Aug. 4) that it will be opening several temporary road test centres to address the massive road test backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minister of Transportation, Caroline Mulroney, said the first two centres will open next week in Guelph and Oshawa and in September, centres that will service the Hamilton/Niagara region, Mississauga, Brampton, York, Durham and Toronto will also come online.
“We are taking concrete action to clear the road test backlog, and that includes opening temporary road test centres so people who need tests can get one as soon as possible,” Mulroney said in a press release.
“As Ontario continues to head in the right direction in the fight against COVID-19, we have an aggressive plan in place to hire additional temporary driver examiners, open additional centres to offer road testing, and extend weekday operating hours for passenger road testing, including weekends.”
The province resumed in-car driving tests on June 14, but the backlog to book a road test is staggering. The Ministry of Transportation said in early July 421,827 road tests had been cancelled since March 2020 due to pandemic-related lockdowns.
Recent reports, however, have pegged the current drive test backlog at more than 700,000.
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Starting Monday (Aug. 9), the two temporary centres in Guelph and Oshawa will exclusively offer class G2/G road tests daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Oshawa site will operate seven days a week, while the site in Guelph will operate five days a week starting in August and is expected to expand operations to seven days a week in November.
Specific dates for the other temporary sites are yet to be disclosed but they are expected to open in September.
To book a road test, visit DriveTest.ca, which is the only official channel for booking a road test.
The province warns that there may still be some delays in booking tests but appointments will be added regularly to the DriveTest.ca site.
“If your road test was cancelled due COVID-19 restrictions, you will receive a credit on the system so that you can rebook your test,” the province said in the release.
— with a file from The Canadian Press
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