Frustrated would-be drivers struggle to book ICBC road tests, face months-long backlog

Many would-be drivers in B.C. who have been waiting for months to get their driver’s licence have now learned they have to wait even longer.

ICBC resumed scheduling road tests this week after pausing in March due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The public insurer’s online booking system opened Monday for anyone who didn’t have a previous road test cancelled.

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More than 24,000 new bookings were made since Monday, and ICBC said it’s been working hard to keep up with demand.

Many prospective drivers like student Simon Burns said they are struggling to book a test.

Parent Tisha Scoffins said her son could only get an appointment for January of next year.

“I’m hoping that at some point they find a way to open up more appointments or figure out if I can find a way to go in and check cancellations without having to give up his January date to try and get him an earlier appointment,” she said.

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Richmond-Queensborough BC Liberal MLA Jas Johal said those looking to take tests can’t wait that long.

“Our economic recovery requires and needs people to work and for people to work they have to be mobile and they can’t do so when they don’t have their driver’s licence,” he said.

“It’s appalling that ICBC says, ‘Call in, we have lots of people’ and then they’re told that they can’t get a driver’s test until January.”

ICBC said it has taken appropriate safety measures. Examiners will have personal protective equipment and customers will be provided with mandatory, medical-grade masks to wear during their tests.

The Crown corporation said it has also taken steps to address the backlog, such as transforming underutilized claims depots into new roadside testing centres and adding up to 100 more examiners.

“That will help us address the current demand and we’ll be able to be in a place where it’s similar to the same levels pre-COVID,” ICBC spokesperson Joanna Linsangan said.

Burns said it’s a case of too little, too late.

“They had a lot of time to prepare. They’ve had a lot of resources to prepare. And I feel like they just dropped the ball.”