Driving licence fees to go up

The cost of getting a driver's licence is to go up, with more sweeping changes possible in future as the whole system gets reviewed.

Transport Minister Steven Joyce said there was a $21.78 million projected shortfall in the driver licensing and testing area.

The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has proposed fee changes which would see renewals $1.30 cheaper but $12.90 more to get a learner licence, a $17.60 hike to get a restricted licence and $18.10 more for a full licence. Fees for 18 services would be reduced but for 23 the price would go up.

The public can submit their views.

"The gap between the fees received and the costs incurred has grown markedly over recent years and this imbalance must be addressed in order to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of our driver licensing system," Mr Joyce said, indicating the increases were likely to go ahead.

Factors increasing costs included high inflation, some costs not being recovered, fees being set below cost and not all transactions being charged for - for example driver licence suspensions.

"The (NZTA) will have to absorb much of the current deficit but we can't allow it to keep growing. It's currently increasing at a rate of about $650,000 per month. NZTA is therefore now consulting on fee changes that will better match the actual costs of providing each service."

Increases would be kept as low as possible, he said.

There would be three new fees, including one for licence reinstatement.

"It's simply not acceptable that responsible, law-abiding drivers have for so long carried the costs of people whose licences have been suspended and then reinstated."

The other two new fees were administration fees if a person withdrew or rescheduled their driving test.

The fees for commercial drivers would be reduced and standardised.

Currently, there were considerable variation in fees for commercial drivers.

Officials had been asked to review the whole driver licensing and driver testing services business model in the 2010/11 year.

- NZPA