Getting one’s drivers’ licence is more than a rite of passage for teenagers; in rural areas it can mean they are able to get an after-school job, get to school, and participate in sports. 

Concerns about difficulties getting licences, making an appointment for testing and undergoing practical assessments in Wānaka was even raised at a recent breakfast meeting (April 29) with local MP Miles Anderson.

In Wānaka, these services are provided by the Automobile Association’s mobile unit which operates sporadically each month from the Wānaka Hotel.

Last month, it operated only four days; there are five days scheduled for this month; and, to date, only three days are scheduled for June.

When it’s open, mobile unit staff provide a variety of services, from learners’ theory tests, overseas driver licence conversions, and international driver permits, to renewing licences, paying for road user charges and arranging vehicle licensing and registration.

Qualified driving instructor Lyal Cocks says for the services they offer, the hours they operate in Wānaka are inadequate.

“A mobile unit manned a few days each month is not good enough. The AA staff are doing their best but there is so much demand when they come here it creates tension as they’re trying to process so much in such a short time,” he said.

Lyal has been a driving instructor in Wānaka for more than 25 years and regularly hears from parents and teens how difficult it is to get an appointment to sit licences or have driver enquiries sorted.

Wānaka is no longer a rural town, he said. It has one of the largest high schools in the region with hundreds of teenagers trying to take their licence every year. 

“These teenagers are already stressed about taking the test, their parents are stressed too, and it’s not good for anyone.”

Wānaka also has a growing population of residents from overseas who’ve grown up relying on public transport and never needed a drivers’ licence before moving to the Upper Clutha, he said.

Wānaka needs its own AA agency and it also needs to have the practical driver assessments for restricted and full licences done here, he said.

Many of his students have had to wait months in line to take their practical tests, sometimes as far away as Gore, Invercargill and Oamaru.

Lyal said if a small town like Balclutha can have an AA agency why can’t Wānaka? A testing officer used to come to Wānaka at least once a month to conduct practical tests but that stopped years ago, he said.

The AA is contracted by New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi to provide driver licence services at AA Licensing Agents around New Zealand. The nearest AA agency to Wānaka is in Frankton. It’s open five days a week (Monday-Friday) from 8:45-4:30pm with a half hour closed for lunch and, according to the AA’s website, provides much the same services as Wānaka’s AA mobile unit.

AA government contract national manager Sheelah Ranson said establishing an AA Agency in Wānaka requires an appropriate local business, with business value aligned to AA service, prepared to deliver these services for their community. 

“Opening an agency requires a significant time and financial commitment from both AA and the agency partners,” Sheelah said.

“It is important that investment is where the need is, that we find the right partners, in the right location and that they have the staffing levels and knowledge they need to provide the services each community needs.”

If the criteria are met then there’s an initial three month AA training programme undertaken prior to the local business being able to operate as an AA Agency.

PHOTO: Wānaka App