Paphos drivers facing serious delays in obtaining license

Paphos is facing serious delays with examination dates for obtaining a driver’s license, the president of the Paphos association of driving schools , Savvas Efthymiou, has said, blaming the delays partly on the transport department’s outdated booking system.

“Once again, when a few test dates were added last Friday, the system crashed, with a refresh rate of about one test every 15 minutes,” he said.

Efthymiou noted that the booking calendar code was written 20 years ago, adding that in recent years, two examiners have left the department and have not yet been replaced. As a result the examination dates have been pushed forward to March 2023, since understaffing has meant 16 fewer examinations per day.

He also wondered how Nicosia, with 330,000 inhabitants, was offering exam dates every two months while in Paphos, with 88,000 inhabitants, it takes six months.  

Efthymiou called on the minister of transport to recruit inspectors “or to proceed privately as he has done with the inspections of saloons and trucks to stop the suffering for everyone”.

According to Efthymiou, the transport department recently hired six employees none of whom was hired to serve Paphos.

A planned meeting with the ministry of transport is expected within the next few days to attempt a solution to the problem, which Efthymiou has said is a longstanding one.