XN000022-1973-03-16 — Page 10

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Friday, March 16, 1973

At present, for a private car driving licence, the waiting

time for the written test is 11 months in Hong Kong and 16 months in

Kowloon,

The waiting time for a private car road test is about three

months, but this is likely to lengthen when the accelerated testing

programe finishes at the end of this month.

For applicants for road tests for goods vehicles and public

omnibuses, the delay is considerably longer.

The spokesman said it was inappropriate that the total period

to get a private car driving licence should be well over one year and

for other categories of vehicles much longer.

"The main reason for this delay," he said, "lies in the large

numbers of applicants who have no real need for a licence and are simply

lengthening the queue.

"It is too early to assess results properly, but the first

indications are that the increase in fees from March 1 may have reduced

the number of applications by nearly a half."

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