Driving license rule changes may raise cost of lessons

Changes to the rules covering driving licenses will make it easier to pass the driving test and for people to get licenses but are likely to raise the cost of lessons, instructors say.

The new regulations were announced on Monday by the Ministry of Public Security, and take effect on Jan 1.

Some tests, such as avoiding various obstacles and moving one-side of a vehicle onto and off a platform without it dropping off the side, will be scrapped. 

No reason has been given for abolishing these tests, which learner drivers must practise and pass before obtaining a license under the current rules.

"The abolition of these not-so-useful tests will definitely make it easier for our clients to pass the driving test," Wang Guangyu, head of the recruitment office at the Beijing Gongjiao Driving School, told China Daily on Wednesday.

Su Guoshun, an instructor at a driving school in Nanyang, Henan province, told Henan Legal Daily: "The tests (that will be abolished) are too difficult for learners to practise and pass and drivers actually don't often use such skills."

One woman taking lessons at Su's school said she agreed with the new rules. "What are the odds that you have to move one side of a vehicle onto and off a narrow platform when driving on roads?" she asked.

An instructor at the Guang'an Driving School in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, said: "I have more than 30 years of driving experience and never used my expertise to move one side of my car onto and off a narrow platform." 

But while they welcomed the changes to the regulations, instructors said they may lead to more expensive driving lessons. 

Under the new rules there would be more driving theory exams and longer driving tests would be introduced before licenses were issued, prolonging training and increasing costs for driving schools, an insider in the business told china.com.cn, a Beijing-based news portal.

Learners would ultimately bear the increased costs, the insider said, predicting that driving schools would soon raise their charges.

These remarks were echoed by Su, the instructor in Nanyang. 

The regulations allow learners to take field tests within three years of passing theory exams, compared to two years at present. Su said this would mean an added burden for driving schools and they would have to transfer the added costs to learners.

But an employee at the Jingbei Driving School in Beijing told China Daily: "As far as I know, we currently don't have plans to adjust our charge. The impact of the new regulations has yet to emerge." 

Gao Zhigen, general manager of the Shanghai Tonglue Driving Training School, said the number of people who came to register at his school on Tuesday had risen by 30 percent, the Oriental Morning Post reported.

"They hope they can finish the training course and take the exam before the new rules take effect next year. They fear the price of attending driving school will be higher than now and are concerned about the chance of passing field tests under the new regulations," he added.