Possibly a not very helpful multi-modal option. It is normally cheaper not to go via London. The Wexham Park to Bracknell bus (53?) and then a Reading Buses 4 to Wokingham station, then the Noth Downs line to Gatwick and change for Hassocks. Depends on how much time you have to waste. Also check service 53 because I believe it doesn't run seven days.

I believe the Reading test centre has closed. Seemed to be a lack of DVLA signage when I went by the other day.

Date of closure confirmed for Reading driving test centre



The driving test centre in Reading has confirmed when it will be conducting its last lot of tests following news that it is relocating.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) was served notice by the owner of the current driving test centre site, because it is being redeveloped for housing. Staff have now found a permanent new location for a driving test centre, and are in the process of negotiating a lease for this.

The last day of testing at the Elgar Road site will be on March 22 2025. It was hoped that this would mean they could move from the current site to the new permanent site, but we are being asked to leave by the landlord before the new site is ready.

For this reason, they are invoking the business continuity plan, which involves running driving tests from the nearby Holiday Inn in Reading. All driving examiners will move to the temporary site, so there will be no interruption or loss of tests. The first day of testing at the Holiday Inn temporary site will be March 24 2025. Following this, all driving examiner roles will move to the new permanent site later in the year.

A spokesperson said "I am unable to confirm the location of the new site yet as it is still commercially sensitive at this stage of the process; this is normal practice in the commercial property sector. We will be happy to write to you again when we are able to announce where the permanent site is. We will be holding an information session about the temporary move on the 10 March at 6:00pm at the Holiday Inn. We are fully committed to opening the permanent new driving test centre in Reading as soon as possible."

The centre, where drivers undertake their practical tests, is set to be demolished to make way for a new residential building containing 16 flats.

The French authorities have a rather more....ahem....robust attitude to these issues. I shall never forget a trip to Paris for the France v England rugby match whilst everything was kicking off in the Balkans.........we were in a bar in Place Pigalle (keeping it classy as ever!) and there was a young Kosovan girl begging on the other side of the road - late teens I would have thought - we had spoken to her a little earlier and given her a few coins.

Along comes a CRS van, "the lads" pile out, have a quick look around and promptly piled into her, kicking, punching etc before chucking her into the back of the van..........one of our number was a middle ranking Police Officer who happened to speak French and was disgusted by what he was seeing - despite the advice of the bar staff to desist, he ran across the road to intervene, and was stopped short by one of the French CRS guys pointing a gun at him and telling him in no uncertain terms to mind his own business.

Now completely cancelled 

14:22 Frome to Swindon due 15:34

We're sorry for the disruption to your journey.
-
Taxis have been arranged leaving Westbury at 14:47 calling at Trowbridge (14:59), Melksham (15:12) and Chippenham (15:29 arrival). Change at Chippenham for Swindon. The taxi company is Bath Taxis.
-
Road transport pick up/drop off points can be found on the information poster at stations or online at nre.co.uk/stations

If you arrive at your destination 15 or more minutes late because your GWR train was delayed or cancelled, you can claim Delay Repay compensation. Please keep your ticket and visit GWR.com/DelayRepay

Driving instructor shortage 'adding to test delays'

A shortage of training instructors is contributing to the backlog of learner drivers waiting to sit their practical test.

Instructors have said delays in booking their own exams, "astronomical" costs and a "convoluted" testing process are deterring people from the industry.

The UK government's department of transport said it was aiming to double examiner training capacity by summer 2026. But instructors have questioned the plans and fear the system is at risk of "grinding to a halt". Three quarters of the 319 driving test centres across Great Britain have hit the maximum average waiting time of 24 weeks to book a practical test, the BBC has found. Among the problems is fewer instructors.

The number of registered approved driving instructors (ADIs) has seen a 10% fall over the past decade, while the number of new registrations for 2024-25 (1,553) was half that of the previous year, according to Department of Transport figures.

Trainee instructors have two years from the date of sitting the first of four tests to qualify, but often have to wait months for an exam date, leaving many struggling to complete the course in the required timeframe.

"There are just not enough examiners to go around," said Elwyn Marfell-Jones, 60, principal instructor of Auto Learners driving school in Swansea. "Many are being pulled across to help clear the backlog of driver tests but that is having a knock-on effect for teaching new instructors and examiners. We're in a mess when you consider this problem has been getting steadily worse since Covid and nothing has been done about it. It's been coming and the system is going to come to a grinding halt. The expense can now be astronomical with the cost of tests and paying £50 an hour for at least 40 hours training. And the tests are prohibitively difficult. When you have a very low pass rate of about 28%, you have to ask if something is wrong with the tests."

Mr Marfell-Jones is teaching four trainee instructors but fears not all will complete the course. "One instructor had her test cancelled on the morning of the test and had to wait four months for a new date," he said. "The stress and expense of getting through the training in an ever diminishing window could well prove too much for her. She has worked really hard to get a new career while also being a carer at home, but has been hugely frustrated by the lack of tests available. I think she is seriously questioning whether to carry on, which would be a real shame because we don't have enough instructors, let alone female instructors in the industry."

There are also concerns that instructors are unable to undergo a standards check every four years - sometimes waiting up to twice that long.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has instructed the DVSA, external to intensify efforts to reduce waiting times and improve access to driving tests. That will include doubling examiner training capacity by summer 2026 to ensure newly recruited driving examiners can qualify "as quickly as possible".

Lynne Barrie, president of the Approved Driving Instructors National Joint Council, is sceptical. "The seven-point plan, which they started to introduce in December 2024, just is not working," she said. "Some 25% of it was about consultations but that's not action, and whilst we are getting new examiners in, there are a large number leaving the profession as well." She added: "We can have as many driving examiners and tests as we like but until we stop people selling on test slots for fraudulent amounts of money then the situation will remain challenging."

Driving test backlog: 'It's easier to pass a test than book one'

Some people used the Easter Monday bank holiday as a chance to have a much-needed lie-in.

Not Stephen Dawes, who set his alarm for 05:45. It wasn't to start work or to catch a train - he just wanted to book his driving test. When he logged into the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) website, he entered an online queue "almost like buying a festival ticket", he says. "I was number 11,000 in the queue."

The 26-year-old, who lives in Newcastle, started learning to drive in February. His instructor told him about a month ago to book his practical test, but each time Stephen looked, the only slots available were in Berwick-upon-Tweed or Scarborough, both more than an hour's drive away. After looking online, he discovered the trick was to log on at 06:00 on Mondays, when the DVSA releases new slots. But some people say it takes several weeks of trying to secure one.

Stephen's experience reflects those of other learner drivers across the UK, who tell BBC News they're on a road to nowhere with getting a driving exam booked during an ongoing test backlog. Some are even paying for apps that alert them when slots become available.

BBC Verify found this week that the average waiting time across the 319 driving test centres in Great Britain was 22 weeks, with three-quarters of centres hitting the maximum average wait time of 24 weeks.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has pledged to reduce the average waiting time to no more than seven weeks by summer 2026, a deadline the government had previously set for the end of 2025. She said the current situation was "totally unacceptable" and that ministers would aim to clear the backlog with measures such as doubling examiner training capacity and reintroducing overtime pay incentives.

Pauline Reeves, the DVSA's director of driver services, told the BBC the organisation had "made significant progress" in reducing wait times since last December but customers were not yet seeing this.

Jodie Johnston, a driving instructor in Exeter, likens booking a test to the infamous annual scramble to buy tickets for Glastonbury Festival - and says some learners in London, where demand can be even higher, are travelling 200 miles to take their tests in Devon. "It's easier to pass a test than book a test at the moment," adds Ali Slade, a driving instructor in Farnham.

One consequence of the long wait list is that many learners are trying to book their practical exam far in advance, despite DVSA advice stating that learner drivers should book it when they're "test-ready". And when learners eventually get a slot, for some it's so far in advance that they're having to fork out extra money on refresher lessons. Some learners say they're also worried about their theory tests expiring as they only last for two years - and you need one to take a practical test.

Many driving schools have long waiting lists for lessons - Ali says hers is about seven months. It can therefore be difficult for learner drivers to align finding an instructor, passing their theory test, and booking a practical exam.

This was the experience of Ella Davis, 26, from Leeds, who says her instructor told her to book her test as soon as she started learning. "I had to book way before I was ready for a test and just guess when I would be ready," she says. Even then, when she looked, she struggled to find any slots in her area or at the right time. In the end, she booked a test for several months away, and then paid £18 for a mobile app that allowed her to change her test to an earlier date, in April 2024, so she wouldn't have to keep paying for more lessons when she already felt ready.

Apps like these alert users when slots become available through other learners cancelling their tests. The DVSA says it does not endorse any apps that find cancellations.

"It just felt like the only way," Ella says.

Lauren Devlin had put off using these apps, but she's worried she will soon be left with little choice. "It felt a bit scammy to me… but at this point, I may just have to try," she says. Lauren, 37, got her driving licence in New Jersey, US, when she was 16. When she first moved to the UK, she relied on public transport to get around - but she's decided she would now like the freedom of being able to drive. Lauren estimates she's already spent about £2,000 on driving lessons, two theory tests and one practical test in summer 2024 that she failed. She has another test scheduled for August, for which she had to wake up early on multiple Monday mornings to join the online queue before she was able to book. But she's worried about what happens if it gets cancelled, or if she fails, as her theory certificate only lasts until next March.

So, what's the cause of the current situation? A DVSA spokesperson has blamed an "increase in demand and a change in customers' booking behaviour" for the backlog.

DVSA data shows that the number of people taking practical driving tests plummeted during waves of lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. There was then a surge in between September 2023 and March 2024, but the number of tests being taken is now similar to pre-pandemic levels. Just under 450,000 practical driving tests were taken between July and September 2024, the most recent data shows.

The DVSA also says that bots have been buying up some test slots and then reselling them at inflated prices. The agency says a high-speed consultation in May will aim "to improve the booking system and block bots from accessing tests".

For some people, the difficulty of booking a test is just too much stress. Libby Murphy says she's "just given up" after failing her test in February, having had two previous tests cancelled by the test centre (the DVSA says it only cancels tests in "exceptional circumstances" and then offers the first available test in the area). Libby, who is 26 and lives in Liverpool, says she's had more than 100 hours of lessons and feels her decision to abandon it will harm her career aim of being a runner in the film industry. As she puts it: "I've spent grands and grands and I've gotten nowhere."

This sort of cancellation/reinstatement** dance, when it involves the last train of the day, must do a disproportionate amount of damage to the confidence that intending travellers hold in the railway as a travel mode.

Mark

**Not yet reinstated, but let's see.

20:00 London Paddington to Plymouth due 23:35 will be terminated at Reading.
It will no longer call at Newbury, Pewsey, Westbury, Castle Cary, Taunton, Tiverton Parkway, Exeter St Davids, Dawlish, Teignmouth, Newton Abbot, Totnes and Plymouth.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

I was ... a little surprised ... by the high proportion of passengers arriving at Penryn, apparently long distance and with substantial luggage, the other afternoon.  Really big flow to Penmere too, and a lot more to Falmouth Town; hardly anyone left on the train down to Docks.   Really shouldn't be surprised if I look at the ticket sales stats.

I have now travelled to or through every National Rail station bar one in Cornwall in the first 4 months of this year - not all stopping - and all except the "top" of one branch in Devon.  Through all passenger stations in Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire and all stations bar one in Gloucestershire within the last 9 months.  Been on quite a lot of buses too.   Tired, but at least some (statistically insignificant) views and thoughts.  I am suspecting I won't be on a train again for the whole of the rest of this month.