Bunbury learners face lowest pass rate, longest wait to book driving test in regional WA

Learner drivers in Bunbury are having to wait longer than anywhere else in regional WA to book a practical test for their licence. The South West city also has the lowest pass rate for driving assessments outside of the metro area, with about two in three failing their test. L-platers are facing a delay of two to three months when they attempt to make an appointment at the Department of Transport Centre in Bunbury, compared to less than a week for youngsters in areas such as Albany and Karratha. The next available booking at the DoT branch as of yesterday was a 3.30pm slot on September 1, which meant an 11-week wait for any learner driver accessing the department’s online system. It means a person having to resit their test even once could face a wait of up to six months to obtain a licence. Bunbury-based Nationals MLC James Hayward said the State Government needed to “urgently address” the delays. “Local families are fed up with endless wait times and the State Government is showing little interest in fixing the problem,” he said. “These delays and high failure rates are causing a lot of angst.” Mr Hayward said the Bunbury centre was “critically understaffed” and had only three assessors, which were also used to cover other parts of the wider South West. DoT South West operations manager Peter Westgate said availability for practical tests was often fluid because of high demand, with 130,000 learner drivers across WA. He said candidates could secure more timely appointments by checking the system daily because of a number of cancellations. “The Department closely monitors practical driving assessment demand at its sites, including Bunbury, and allocates resources accordingly to meet demand across the network,” he said. Transport Minister Rita Saffioti was contacted for comment. A total of 1620 driving tests have been completed in Bunbury so far this year. Statistics show Exmouth has the highest test pass rate in WA, with 74.3 per cent of its candidates successfully completing the assessment. The lowest was the Mirrabooka centre, which sees four in five learners fail their test. Success (29.40 per cent) and Joondalup (34.9 per cent) are the only other two branches with lower pass rates than Bunbury.