§ The Earl of Shrewsburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What time at present elapses between an application for a public service vehicle driver's test (for the driving of mini-buses), and the test itself: and what they consider to he an acceptable timescale.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Transport (Lord Brabazon of Tara)Public service drivers for hire or reward take the same test. Depending on the area concerned, waiting time can range from one to 10 weeks. Our target so far achieved in over half the test centres—is a maximum of four weeks. We try, wherever possible, to meet operators' requests for block booking arrangements, since these can cut out any wait by candidates.