Ontario reopened DriveTest centres fully and piloted at-school truck road tests

In September 2020, Ontario announced that its DriveTest centres would return to full service on Sept. 8, 2020, after COVID-19 closures that had worsened testing backlogs for new truck drivers.

The 56 centres closed on March 23, 2020, and began reopening in stages on June 22. The full reopening removed restrictions such as assigned days for knowledge tests based on birth month. Face coverings, hand sanitizing, temperature checks and screening questions stayed in place.

Backlog pressure on truck schools

The closures left some training schools travelling long distances to find road test slots. Changes to backing procedures under Ontario's Mandatory Entry-Level Training (MELT) rules had also reduced how many trainees some test sites could handle.

At-school pilot

The province also launched a pilot that let pre-screened training schools book examiners to run road tests from their own campuses. Four schools took part: Crossroads Truck Training Academy in Ottawa, Commercial Heavy Equipment Training in Mississauga, Northern Academy of Transportation Training in Sudbury and Northstar Truck Driving School in Windsor.

Crossroads reported that six of the seven trainees tested in its first session earned their Class AZ licence. The route was the usual one, but parking manoeuvres were done in a layout marked out on the school's lot.

Under the pilot, schools had to commit to a weekly or every-two-weeks schedule, pay for 7.5-hour testing blocks and submit schedules at least a week ahead. They also paid a one-time $305 set-up fee and $231 per testing day for examiner travel.