Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of driving test waiting times at test centres serving Kingswood.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is working hard to reduce waiting times for car practical tests whilst upholding road safety standards. DVSA wants all customers to be able to access a driving test when they are ready to pass, to enable people to get to places of study or work and break down barriers to opportunity.
The table below shows the average waiting time in weeks for February 2026, and number of tests booked and available at the nearest four driving test centres (DTC) to Kingswood of 23 March 2026.
Driving test centre (DTC) | Average car practical driving test waiting time (February 2026) | Booked tests (as of 23 March 2026) | Tests available in 24 week booking window (as of 23 March 2026) |
Bristol (Kingswood) | 24 weeks | 4,442 | 127 |
Bristol (Avonmouth) | 24 weeks | 4,404 | 124 |
Chippenham | 24 weeks | 3,053 | 182 |
Trowbridge* | 24 weeks | 460 | 1 |
*Trowbridge is a taking the test to the customer site so may not be open every day.
Between June 2025 – February 2026, at the four DTCs above, DVSA conducted 2,372 additional car practical driving tests in overtime, when compared to the equivalent overtime scheme between June 2024 – February 2025. This increase can largely be attributed to the additional test allowance scheme the agency introduced in June 2025.