The city’s ombudsman urged the government to further increase the number of driving tests and improve related arrangements, citing a lengthy waiting period of around 200 days for such tests and a surge in appeals of their results.

When releasing the result of his first investigation since assuming office in April, Ombudsman Jack Chan Jick-chi put forward 12 improvement recommendations on the Transport Department’s arrangements for driving tests.

Chan said that rising demand and the intermittent suspension of testing during the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly prolonged the waiting time for the driving test.

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In November 2022, the waiting time for road tests for private cars and light-goods vehicles reached over 340 days. Despite waiting time still stands at around 200 days.

A rising number of appeals against road-test results also spiked in recent years. The caseload doubled from 192 cases in 2017 to 380 cases in 2023, reflecting an increase in the public's discontent with the road test arrangements, Chan added.

He suggested that the Transport Department proactively explore ways to further increase the number of road test through flexible manpower deployment.

Chan also advised city officials to designate more driving test centers at locations farther away from the city center or residential areas, which he believes will also help increase the road-test output.

Chan also said that installing video recording equipment in test vehicles is the prevailing trend with the growing popularity of dashboard cameras and the rapid technological development.

He said the Transport Department should seriously review its current practice of prohibiting video recording of road tests.

If the department concludes that video recording is feasible, the department should examine measures to protect personal privacy and continuously communicate with the stakeholders in the course of introducing video-recording equipment specifically for road tests, Chan said.

In addition to proactively exploring how to increase road test output, Chan also suggested that the department review and improve the Duty Reporting Arrangement of Driving Examiners, which is estimated to increase 5,500 additional road tests for noncommercial vehicles each year.

The Transport Department said it will adopt the recommendations of the Office of the Ombudsman. It will continue to review and enhance the work arrangements and staff guidelines and take appropriate measures to ensure the smooth operation of Driving Test Centers.

Regarding the Office of the Ombudsman’s future works, Chan said that the overriding objective is to help resolve the difficulties faced by members of the public to improve people’s livelihoods and foster social harmony.

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Chan said the office will move full steam ahead with the use of mediation to resolve complaints from the public, respond to public demands promptly, and reduce conflicts in society to bring about social cohesion.

The office encourages various government departments and public organizations to work together to enhance administrative arrangements.

It also advised members of the public, especially the younger generation, to express views in a positive and constructive manner with the aim of improving public administration.

Contact the writer at fangxue@chinadailyhk.com