Cape Town traffic services have reduced the waiting period for driving and learner licence appointments from 11 months to a maximum of three months.
Traffic authorities attributed the reduction to smarter staffing and the opening of new licensing centres.
Spokeswoman Merle Lourens said most licensing stations now had a 2-3 month backlog, compared with the 11-12 month backlog experienced in the past two years.
She said two additional traffic departments, in Mitchells Plain and Fish Hoek, had also improved matters.
Lourens said staff were rotated to assist in various departments to alleviate some pressure.
These days, when an examiner finished early with a driving test, the examiner was deployed to another section of the centre instead of milling around.
Examiners often assisted people in vehicle licensing queues or in learner's licence classes.
Lourens said a big problem was those who did not arrive for their driving licence appointments.
“We used to as many as 2000 people a month who made appointments and then just didn't pitch.”
She said Gallows Hill was still experiencing backlogs because many people were familiar with the station and either refused to go elsewhere or were not aware that they could go to other places.
“Even when we tell people they can go to Milnerton and other places, they insist on going to Gallows Hill, it's the most popular one,” Lourens said.
JP Smith, mayoral committee member for safety and security, said the reductions were evident in terms of queues at traffic centres.
He said the introduction of the Ottery centre and the refurbishment of other centres had a role to play.
Cape Town now had 17 traffic centres across the metropole, compared with five major centres in Johannesburg.
Smith added that authorities were fed up with “no-shows” at testing stations and the poor pass rate, which led to the continued booking of appointments and contributed to the backlog.
“Many people are really unprepared for their tests,” he said. - Cape Argus