Heather Latter
With reports of long line-ups at DriveTest centres in larger Ontario cities, the Fort Frances office (located at 533 Mowat Ave.) seemed to be running smoothly Monday afternoon during its first day back in operation after a four-month strike.
Service resumed at 56 full-service centres across the province at 1 p.m. on Monday, with nearly 40 others in rural communities opening yesterday.
More than 650 DriveTest employees had been on strike since late August over issues such as supervisors doing work originally done by unionized staff.
While some major centres were seeing hundreds of people waiting out in the cold, those few waiting in line at the one here didn’t seemed deterred by the backlog.
In fact, most seemed quite patient as they waited roughly an hour for their turn at the counter.
“There were a few people who were frustrated and some who decided to come back later, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I was expecting,” said Jake Gill, who was on hand to assist with crowd control if need be.
Only three people were being allowed inside the office at a time to prevent congestion and, at the most, Gill noted there were about eight people waiting outside.
“It hasn’t been too bad,” echoed Deanna Bogacki, who was waiting to book an appointment for her son to get his full ‘G’ driver’s licence.
“I think they are well-organized and keeping things running smoothly,” she added.
She said her son, Chad, had been waiting for the strike to end so he could do his road test. Although his licence hadn’t yet expired, Bogacki explained his car insurance would decrease once he took—and passed—the test for his ‘G’ licence.
Meanwhile, 16-year-old Jamie Loveday was thrilled to see the office re-opened so he could get his ‘G1’ licence (or driver’s permit).
“I was getting frustrated with the strike because I wanted to get my ‘G1’ as soon as I was able, but I couldn’t,” he remarked, noting he was eligible to take the written examination on Dec. 4.
“So I wanted to come down here the first chance I got,” he stressed.
Loveday said he waited about an hour-and-a-half for service at the DriveTest centre, but that it was worth it because he passed the test and would be behind the wheel soon.
Aurora Doerksen of “DriveWise” in Fort Frances also is happy to finally see an end to the strike as she had been dealing with some disappointed students who had been unable to do their road test over the past few months.
“I’m surprised how quickly people are getting in [for road test appointments],” she admitted, noting most of her students have been able to get appointments only about a month late.
“Which isn’t too bad considering,” she added.
Doerksen also noted her students are equally thrilled that the DriveTest offices are back up and running.
“Everyone is thrilled and they’re not too upset that it is only a month later,” she indicated. “I prepared them for a very long wait, so they’re not too frustrated.
“They’re being patient.”
However, despite the relatively short wait time at the local office, DriveTest still is anticipating high customer volumes at most locations and asking customers to wait two or three weeks before making an appointment or coming to a DriveTest centre—unless they need service for employment or training purposes.
Customers will be served on a first-come, first-served basis.
“Those coming in should make sure they bring all their necessary identification and to give themselves plenty of time,” Gill advised, adding he still expects at least hour-long waits for the rest of the week.
Information on the DriveTest website indicates all road test appointments booked for anytime after Jan. 4 at 1 p.m. will be honoured, but that customers should arrive 30 minutes before their scheduled road test appointment in order to complete check-in procedures.
All driver examination appointments scheduled prior to this date were cancelled at no cost to the customer.
These people will have to re-book their road tests.
Also, customers whose driver’s licence expired on or after Aug. 24, 2009, and require a test to renew it, have had their licences temporarily extended by an interim regulation put in place by the Ministry of Transportation.
They may continue to drive while the regulation is in effect, which will be until July.
For more information, visit www.drivetest.ca
