A trio of Driver And Vehicle Services centres will open on Saturdays for the next eight weeks in a “blitz” designed to trim ballooning wait times.
Beginning June 8, the City West, Cannington and Mirrabooka DVS centres will operate from 7.15am to 2.15pm on Saturday.
Each centre will focus only on driver and vehicle transactions – such as renewing a licence or transferring ownership of a car.
They will not offer practical driving assessments on Saturdays, nor accept marine, dealer and NDIS transactions.
The extended operating hours follow a big blowout in waiting times, which have generated significant frustration for customers attempting to complete often straightforward transactions.
Minister assisting the Transport Minister David Michael said a “number of factors” were contributing to the long queues, headlined by a surge in interstate and international migration which resulted in a higher number of “complex” licence and vehicle transfers.
Challenges recruiting and retaining DVS staff and customers attending centres for transactions that could be completed online or at Australia Post are also having an impact.
The eight-week blitz comes after the Joondalup Driver Assessment Centre moved to a six-day operating model in November in a bid to slash waiting lists for driving tests.
“The success of Saturday opening hours at the Joondalup Driver Assessment Centre indicates that customers would welcome more centres offering driver and vehicle transactions on Saturdays,” Mr Michael said.
In the six months since it started opening on Saturdays, the Joondalup centre has conducted more than 10,000 driving assessments and issued nearly 7000 learner’s permits.
Queues snaking out the doors of DVS centres are not uncommon, and customers have complained of being trapped waiting for hours to see a staff member.
Mr Michael said the “time taken to complete transactions” remained “consistent” but centres were being overwhelmed.
“I’d like to acknowledge the hard work of the DVS centre staff, and the patience of their customers, during this period of high demand,” he said.
“DoT will continue to investigate ways to improve service through extended trading hours, continued recruitment and educating customers about digital and alternative solutions to attending a DVS centre.”
The Department of Transport is also mulling “longer-term investment in improved business information systems” and options for more DVS centres and service points in Perth.