Learner drivers were waiting at least six months for a test in Bolton in March, new figures show.

The pandemic saw waiting times at driving test centres across Great Britain shoot up, as tests were halted during successive lockdowns and the wait is continuing for learners as they wait months to pass.

New figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), obtained by RADAR through a freedom of information request, shows that learners were waiting at least 24 weeks to take their driving test at the Bolton testing centre as of the end of March – far exceeding the government's six-week target.

This was up from one week at the end of March 2020.

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The DVSA does not record the exact length of time for waits over 24 weeks, so the true figure could be higher.

Tony Pearson, a Grade A driving instructor in Bolton, said: “Driving test waiting times at Bolton driving test centre haven't changed at all since the end of lockdown.

“Despite repeated promises from the DVSA they seem incapable of reducing theses waiting times.

“They have tried recruiting new examiners, but they can't do this fast enough and with examiners already employed who are moving within the agency to other posts such as lorries and motorcycles, examiner numbers aren't increasing fast enough.

“Many examiners work on a part time basis which again keeps the number of tests slots available down.

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“All summer the test centre was closed at 3.30pm when longer hours would have been available to the agency due to summer daylight hours, but due to many reasons given by the DVSA none of the summer evenings and a vast majority of weekends weren't used to bring down the waiting list.

“As instructors we cannot see at this present rate how the DVSA are going to get back into a normal waiting time.”

As of the end of March, more than 500,000 people were waiting for a test across Britain – seven times the 70,000 waiting in March 2020, and up from 372,000 last year.

The number of people waiting by test centres was not available.

Head of roads policy at the RAC, Nicholas Lyes, said: “There’s little doubt the pandemic has had an impact on practical driving test backlogs, though we’re encouraged that the DVSA is taking steps to get on top of this including offering overtime for instructors, as well as making tests available on weekends and over public holidays.

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"The figures powerfully demonstrate the continuing strong demand from younger people to get their full driving licence, given the opportunities and freedom that comes with driving.”

Across Britain, 123 driving test centres had waits of at least six months as of March – 38 per cent of the country's 324 testing sites.

Meanwhile, just 43 sites (13 per cent) had waiting times of less than a month.

The DVSA said that it had since cut down waiting times, with 23 per cent of test centres now having a wait of 24 weeks, and a further 23 per cent within the target of six weeks as of November – although it could not provide figures on which centres had improved.

Chief executive of the DVSA, Loveday Ryder, said that it had taken "swift action" to tackle the impact of the pandemic.

However, she added that more than half of learners are still failing their tests and urged them to check the "Ready to Pass" checklist available on the DVSA website.

Separate analysis by the RAC shows that more than 50,000 tests in the 12 months to March were taken by people who had already failed their test five times or more.

It said this may be driving up the backlog, as inexperienced learners take any test available for fear of missing out on a slot later.