Residents of Almaty are facing serious difficulties in obtaining driver's licenses, having to wait several months for an exam, reports infohub.kz.
Dias Akhmetov graduated from a driving school a year ago but still hasn't received his license. According to him, the main problem is the huge queues at the service centers. Appointments for the exam can take up to two months, and sometimes even after that, testing fails due to constant system glitches.
"I come, try to take the exam, my time comes, I present my ticket, but they tell me: 'Come back tomorrow.' So my turn never reaches the actual exam. Then, when my turn finally comes and I start, the stress kicks in, I run out of time, and I can't pass properly," Dias Akhmetov shared.
Driving schools are also facing the problem. They admit that getting a license has become much harder this year. According to instructors, about 20% of their graduates end up losing the desire to drive. To grab a free slot, students and instructors check the service center's app daily. They hope to get an exam slot at least in a month.
"The training goes as planned — two months. No problems. After that, we start booking the exam: through the service center's app, the student logs in, registers, and gets an application. But after receiving the application, they can't book a slot because it's always closed," says Valentina Aliyeva, head of a driving school.
Service centers are aware of the problem. They explain that the number of people wanting to get a license has doubled over the year. To handle the flow, additional classrooms for the theoretical exam have been set up. According to specialists, this should increase capacity and reduce queues.
"The main reason for the increased load is the significant growth in the number of candidates. Additionally, vehicle downtime affects appointment availability. For example, cars involved in accidents during the practical exam, temporary downtimes, repeat attempts by candidates, seasonal demand growth, and the capacity of the driving range," explained Nursultan Shankarov, manager of the development department at the 'Government for Citizens' State Corporation.
While queues are not getting shorter, experts advise candidates to try going to other cities in Kazakhstan. Some Almaty residents, to get their licenses faster, even rent accommodation there for a few days and stay until they pass the exam.
Earlier, Kazakhstanis massively complained about being unable to obtain driver's licenses due to a system failure in the practical driving exam.