The wait for driver licence tests in Gisborne is at least five weeks, leaving rural East Coast residents trying to enter the workforce in limbo.
NZTA and VTNZ say Covid-19 lockdowns have created a backlog of 42,000 driver tests nationwide.
Photo: LDR / Alice Angeloni
One driving instructor called the wait for a practical test, which earlier this week stretched into June, extraordinary and said he had not seen it like this in 25 years.
When Mcinnes Driver Training office manager Colin Simpson tried to book practical driving tests in Gisborne last week, no spots were available. There wasn t a single booking slot in Gisborne at all, forever, he said.