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When Ms Lashirah Jan enrolled in a driving course at the Singapore Safety Driving Centre (SSDC) in April last year, she hoped to emerge as a newly minted driver within a year. 

The 19-year-old nursing student took her time to complete her Basic Driving Theory Test (BTT), a prerequisite before learners can begin practical lessons. She eventually sat the test in November. 

In her mind, five months seemed like more than enough time to complete her practical lessons before sitting the test. 

But for the last five months she has had zero success in booking a practical lesson. That means her enrolment in the driving course, which lasted a year, is no longer valid.

"Once it expires, you have to pay to renew it," she said. 

"I'll still try to get my licence, but I'm considering going the private route this time."

Learner drivers in Singapore can choose to book lessons through SSDC or two other large driving centres, which are technically private. The other option is to use self-employed "private" instructors. 

Meanwhile, Mr Tan Ek Hern, 27, who has his practical driving test in two weeks, is relieved he's on the last leg of the process. 

Upon enrolling at SSDC in April 2025, he was initially able to secure his first few lessons in person at the centre's reception. However, he was later made to book his lessons online or make an appointment online for an in-person booking. 

E-appointment slots, which are required for learners to visit the centre in person to book lessons, were booked solid for up to a year in advance, while the lesson slots he found online were very limited.

He eventually switched to a private instructor to complete his lessons at the start of this year.

"Switching to a private instructor was a practical decision as I'd already gone through the different options of trying to progress, like trying to 'camp' for slots. Things got stuck when I had to rely on the online school booking system," he said.

Faced with limited availability, many learners have told ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ TODAY they have resorted to "camping" – repeatedly checking booking platforms in hopes of securing last-minute slots.

Other learner drivers have found themselves stuck in limbo much closer to the finish line. 

Mr Huang, who declined to give his full name, has completed all his lessons but has been waiting several months for a retest slot after failing at his first attempt.

The 29-year-old, who is learning with a private instructor, said he's been waiting to secure a test date for about six months.

²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ TODAY spoke to nine learner drivers across Singapore's three driving centres who have faced similar issues booking lessons or practical test dates, with some finding their pursuit of a licence delayed by several months or even longer. 

Apart from SSDC in Woodlands, the other driving centres are: Bukit Batok Driving Centre (BBDC) and ComfortDelGro Driving Centre (CDC) in Ubi.

In several online forums, including Reddit, users have made the same complaints about booking lessons at all three centres, with slots regularly full or offered only at timings that are difficult to attend for those working or in school.

All the learner drivers said the process of getting their licence has been arduous, with many having to "camp" online when new slots are released, typically on a monthly basis, or when other learners give up their bookings.

With lessons sometimes spaced three weeks to a month apart, many said they became rusty and forgot what they had learnt in earlier sessions by the time the next lesson came around.

In response to queries from ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ TODAY, Singapore Police Force (SPF) said that they are aware of the concerns about waiting times at driving centres, adding that the demand for such lessons has increased significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic.

School enrolment for Class 3 and 3A licences grew by about 35 per cent, from around 46,000 in 2019 to more than 62,000 in 2024. 

The number of practical tests administered has also risen, from 85,639 in 2019 to 98,702 in 2025, putting pressure on training capacity at driving centres.

A Class 3 licence allows drivers to operate both manual and automatic vehicles such as cars, SUVs and some light goods vehicles, while a Class 3A licence covers the automatic versions of these vehicles only.

A CDC spokesperson confirmed that enrolment at its centre had increased by about 2 per cent in 2025 from 2024, which may be linked to more learners opting for school-based lessons as private driving instructors become harder to find.

No new private driving instructor licences have been issued since 1987.

Currently, the average waiting time for practical lessons at CDC is about three months, which the centre said is typical during periods of strong demand.

SPF noted that learners book practical lessons based on their own schedules and preferred learning pace, and that different driving centres use different booking systems. 

As a result, waiting times can vary and are not directly comparable across centres.

The police added that they are working with driving centres to provide more information online, such as the average time it takes for learners to complete their training and take their first practical test.

STRUGGLING TO SECURE LESSONS

Securing a practical lesson slot has become the biggest hurdle for many learners, with some waiting months between lessons – or even for their first session.

Mr Chan, 35, who declined to give his full name, started his driving journey in February this year and was told the earliest available practical lesson at BBDC is in September. 

"Even for that first session, I will have to take time off work in the middle of the day just to attend. So there's a lot of sacrifice involved," said Mr Chan, who works in digital marketing.

For others, the difficulty securing slots meant long breaks in the middle of what had otherwise been steady progress.

Ms Tan Jing Wen, 25, another learner at BBDC, had to take a six-month break between lessons after she was unable to secure any slots that were outside her working hours.

After completing about 10 lessons by September last year, her next practical session was only in March this year.

"It's difficult and makes things inflexible, because you can't really predict your schedule six months ahead," said Ms Tan, a business analyst.

Ms Halimahtus Syadiyah Abdul Rizal, 24, who is also enrolled at BBDC, said that "camping" online has become part of her daily routine.

"My free time is spent logging into my account to check if anyone has released any last-minute slots," said the therapy assistant. 

Her account was eventually suspended multiple times after being wrongly flagged by anti-bot measures, temporarily preventing her from accessing the platform.

As competition for slots intensified, some learners said they felt pushed towards using bots or third-party tools.

Another learner, Mr Anthony (not his real name), said he turned to a Telegram bot service after struggling to secure lessons manually. 

In his view, the use of such bots has become "an open secret" among learners. "It feels like most people are using bots," he said.

This constant competition for limited slots has also taken a toll on learners like Mr Chan, who said that the process often felt like a "waste of time", with no guarantee of securing a lesson despite hours spent trying. 

"You know that everyone is rushing to book, so you feel pressured to do the same. It adds mental stress on top of everything else," he said.

Even for those who manage to secure a slot, there is no guarantee it will go ahead.

Mr Ams Shah, who enrolled at CDC in late February this year and is due to graduate from polytechnic later this year, said five of his booked practical lessons were later cancelled.

In screenshots of a live chat viewed by ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ TODAY, he was informed that a refund had been processed as the slots were not available due to a system glitch.

"That was very frustrating. I would have preferred to be given alternative slots instead," he said.

WHEN PROGRESS STALLS

Beyond simple delays, these difficulties in securing slots have also affected learners' progress, with long gaps between lessons making it harder to retain what they have learned.

Ms Tan, who was not able to practise driving for six months due to a lack of available slots, recalled struggling when she returned to lessons.

"I hadn't touched a car in six months, so I even forgot basic things like how to adjust mirrors or use the pedals properly," she said. "I felt like a total newbie again."

She added that the gap meant she had to relearn previously covered material, making her earlier 10 lessons costing around S$70 (US$55) each feel like "a waste of time and money".

Similarly, Mr Aswath Mathiazhagan, who is learning at CDC and registered in November last year, said progress has been slow despite securing lessons, with only five completed so far.

The 19-year-old student said gaps of about three weeks to a month between lessons make it difficult to maintain momentum.

"Sometimes I lose touch with driving, so I have to go around the circuit a few more times before the instructor feels that I'm ready to go out on the road again," he said.

The experience has also taken an emotional toll on learners, like Ms Lashirah, who said she initially felt motivated to complete the process of obtaining her licence but became discouraged over time.

"I feel very sad, and I've lost the motivation to continue learning driving."

Mr Anthony, who turned to using bots to secure slots, said he sometimes feels like quitting, but feels compelled to continue after already spending about S$1,500 on lessons and enrolment.

The prolonged and uncertain process has also weighed on learners nearing the end of their journey.

Mr Huang said the experience has been "very frustrating", adding that it feels as though "the system fails you" despite following all the required steps.

"Sometimes it keeps me up at night. It feels like something is incomplete and always hanging over me," he said.

Some learners considered or switched to private instructors as a workaround, but found that this route comes with its own trade-offs.

One key difference is access to the official driving circuit within each of the three driving centres, which is an important component of test preparation.

Mr Huang, who switched to private lessons after starting out at a driving school, said he had limited access to the circuit during his training.

"We used a makeshift circuit … the only times I used the actual circuit were right before the test, which is not ideal," he said.

Even though he ultimately failed due to a handbrake issue with the instructor's car, he added that he only had about three circuit lessons before the test, which he described as "a huge shock" that made him feel unprepared for the test.

Mr Ams found that private lessons could cost significantly more, particularly when circuit fees are included.

"It can be about S$135 for one hour with circuit usage, compared to around S$80 to S$90 for one-and-a-half hours at a driving school," he said.

Learners also cited cost as a concern, with some saying they were quoted up to S$180 per hour for private automatic lessons, or faced additional registration or waiting list fees.

When it comes to areas where the system could be improved, Mr Anthony said greater transparency would help, as he found it unclear when slots were released.

Some driving centres publish fixed release timings. For instance, BBDC states that practical lesson slots are released on the last Thursday of each month from 2pm onwards.

"Right now, it almost feels like superstition – some people say slots are released at 5am, others say 5pm," Mr Anthony said, adding that a clearer system or queue mechanism could make the process more manageable.

Meanwhile, Mr Tan said the current system may be contributing to the rise of "camping" and third-party booking services, where lesson slots are secured and sometimes passed on or resold.

He suggested that reducing the incentive for such practices – for instance, by preventing the transfer or resale of booked slots – could help address some of the issues.

"It's like scalping tickets," he said. "If there's no incentive to do that, most of the problems would not be there."

Listings offering such services can also be found on platforms such Carousell, where they are marketed as slot-booking or booking assistance services.

ADDRESSING THE BOTTLENECK

In response to queries from ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ TODAY, the SPF said that they are working to address these capacity issues, of which the key constraint is the limited number of instructors.

Policies have been reviewed to allow driving schools to hire foreign instructors, with recruitment currently under way. To date, four have been hired.   

The SPF added that the traffic police have also recently approved adjustments to training and specialised course fees across the three driving schools to help manage rising operational costs and support higher salaries for driving instructors.

Driving centres have also taken steps to expand capacity. For example, CDC said it has increased its car fleet and grown its instructor pool by more than 10 per cent, with efforts ongoing.

Last month, ComfortDelGro announced plans to build a new driving centre in Choa Chu Kang to replace BBDC by 2030, as part of a S$200 million investment to modernise and expand training capabilities. BBDC is being phased out by 2030 as part of plans to redevelop the area with new residential developments. 

"In the longer term, (the traffic police are) working with the driving schools to implement technology such as intelligent driving circuits and driving simulators to raise training capacity and reduce reliance on manpower," said the police.

As for the use of bots to make bookings, the traffic police have directed driving schools to implement safeguards for both lesson and test bookings which include CAPTCHA authentication, restrictions on suspicious logins and account suspensions for confirmed cases.

In 2025, the three driving schools suspended close to 13,400 accounts suspected of misuse.

A CDC spokesperson said the centre has implemented measures such as an artificial-intelligence algorithm to detect and counter such activity.

Booking limits have also been put in place. CDC and SSDC allow learners to book up to five and eight lesson slots per month respectively, while BBDC uses a block booking system that allows up to 20 slots for Class 3A and 22 slots for Class 3 lessons.