‘I just can’t book it’: Ontario drivers struggle to secure road tests amid COVID pandemic

The Ministry of Transportation said that roughly 421,827 road tests have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020.

Anumeha Thakur has spent a large chunk of time during the COVID-19 pandemic trying to complete what used to be a relatively simple task — booking a driving test.

The Brampton, Ont., resident had a test scheduled to obtain her G licence in the spring of 2020, but that was cancelled when the pandemic hit. A test she later booked for January this year was scrapped because of a provincewide lockdown. And she failed a test she managed to secure in September, leaving her hunting once more for an available exam.

Now, Thakur says she can’t find a single road test appointment on the province’s online portal all the way through to the end of next year.

“It’s a real struggle,” Thakur said during a phone interview. “I find it very hard, because I want to be able to pass it. And you know, I’m trying, trying and I just can’t book it.”

The Ministry of Transportation said that roughly 421,827 road tests have been cancelled due to the pandemic since March 2020.

In acknowledging the backlog, the province has given novice drivers with licences expiring between March 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2022, until the end of next year to pass tests needed to maintain or upgrade their licences.

Thakur said her G2 licence technically expired in May. She said she’s eager to get her G licence and is frustrated at the trouble she’s having securing a test.

Adding to her annoyance is the fact that some third-party sellers have contacted her with the offer of earlier road test appointments, at a price.