![\"Alex](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_alex-seabrook.jpg\")
<\/p>\n“Instead of booking a test in Bristol, I will be booking a hotel in Hereford”<\/p>\n
Alex Seabrook is a local democracy reporter who covers Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council. He grew up in Devon before moving to Cardiff for university, and he now lives in Bedminster<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_A-car-with-an-L-plate.jpg\")
The DVSA is planning to make booking tests easier(Image: Alex Seabrook )<\/p>\n
The hardest part of learning to drive <\/a>this year has not been clutch control nor navigating through the minefield of city centre construction work. There are two test centres in Bristol and I simply cannot book a test in either one despite many desperate months of trying.<\/p>\n Learner drivers have struggled to book tests since the pandemic, first due to a backlog that built up <\/a>and then due to that backlog getting exploited by scalpers. Some parts of the country are harder than others to book a test, like London or Bristol, with more rural parts less difficult.<\/p>\n As soon as I had passed my theory test in March I began trying to book a practical test, and I have not stopped since then. First you have to pass the most complicated Captcha test I\u2019ve ever come across, to check you\u2019re a human and not a bot. They make me doubt I am in fact human.<\/p>\n Then you have to wait about a minute while the website buffers, and finally you can choose which centre you would like to book a test in and when. Except the next stage, 99 per cent of the time, is a message saying there are sadly no available tests that meet your requirements.<\/p>\n I tried booking in centres near Bristol \u2014 Newport, Weston-super-Mare, Monmouth, Cardiff and Barry \u2014 and got the same message. Eventually, after about a month, I finally booked a test 50 miles away in Hereford.<\/p>\n The advice often given to learners is to book a test anywhere in the country, and then try to change your centre closer to home. So since April, I\u2019ve been trying to do just that. There\u2019s nothing wrong with Hereford, I\u2019ve been there once for a weekend away to visit the superb Museum of Cider.<\/p>\n But I would much rather not have to travel so far for my test, as well as drive on unfamiliar roads. During most lessons now my instructor takes me to Kingswood, so that I can practise driving on the roads near the test centre there, which feels pointless, as I cannot change my test to Bristol.<\/p>\n Several times a week I struggle through the Captcha test, doubt my humanity, then try to change my test to Kingswood or Avonmouth, or even Newport or Weston, and get told no tests are available. I\u2019ve spent \u00a327 buying two apps that promise to help you change your test.<\/p>\n So far that has been a waste of money as they don\u2019t seem to work. One app alerts you to a new test becoming available, but by the time you check your phone, log onto the website, pass the Captcha test, and wait for the buffer, somebody else has beaten you to the punch and booked it.<\/p>\n Another route, which I don\u2019t want to go down but may end up having to, is to pay a scalper around \u00a380 to find me a test in Bristol. That\u2019s on top of the \u00a362 I\u2019ve already paid for my test in Hereford. But these scalpers, or test touts, are the very reason I cannot book a test myself.<\/p>\n Scalpers use bots to automatically book up loads of tests as soon as they are released, using the provisional driving licence details of learners without their knowledge. They then sell these on at an inflated price, both creating the scarcity and profiting from it too.<\/p>\n A freedom of information request I sent showed that on average one test doesn\u2019t go ahead every day<\/a> in both Kingswood and Avonmouth, likely because scalpers can\u2019t resell all their tests. Over a year, 439 tests didn\u2019t go ahead in Kingswood as candidates failed to turn up, and 344 in Avonmouth.<\/p>\n Join Bristol Live\u2019s WhatsApp community for top stories and breaking news sent directly to your phone<\/strong><\/p>\n Bristol Live<\/a> is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.<\/p>\n Through the app, we\u2019ll send the latest breaking news, top stories, exclusives and much more straight to your phone.<\/p>\n To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select \u2018Join Community\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live<\/a> team.<\/p>\n We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.<\/p>\n To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose \u2018Exit group\u2019.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0_WhatsApp-Phone.jpg\")
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