Ahmedabad: AI-based driving tests stick assiduously to the lane of objectivity, but licence applicants are facing a challenge that’s longer than conventional testing. Thanks to a record spike in failure rates, new applicants face unprecedented wait times for driving tests across major Gujarat cities.Waiting periods for driving-test slots stretch to 45-60 days in several major cities, while Mehsana, Patan, and smaller RTOs report a month-long waiting time.Growing queues have prompted Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Vadodara, and Surat to plan additional testing tracks.Ahmedabad regional transport officer Balmukund Suryavanshi said the city has had one AI-based test track for one and a half months, with applicants currently waiting 50-55 days for four-wheeler tests.The city is planning a second track at Subhash Bridge RTO. That will reduce the waiting period by nearly half.“The second track will open in eight months,” Suryavanshi said. Ahmedabad eventually plans to have three AI-based test tracks to increase testing capacity.The existing track conducts 160-180 two-wheeler and 100-110 four-wheeler tests daily, but the growing number of re-tests is adding to the pressure, transport department officials said.In a month since the AI track went live, 80% of applicants for light motor vehicle licences in Ahmedabad failed the test. Among two-wheeler applicants, 30% failed. Parallel parking accounted for nearly 80% of failures in four-wheeler tests, while being unable to balance and putting a foot down were the major reasons in two-wheeler tests.Officials blamed applicants’ inadequate preparation and inattention to demonstration videos. The problem is statewide, officials said.In Rajkot, for instance, the waiting period has risen from 15-25 days to 45-51 days. RTO in charge R M Ravaliya said longer tests and more re-test applicants were responsible for the delays. The success rate of applicants has slid to 20-22%, he said.He added that the work order for constructing an additional driving-test track had been issued. “The new track is expected to become operational within three months,” he said.A Surat RTO official said, “The waiting period for tests used to be a week. With the advent of the AI track, it is 35-45 days.”The official said Surat will soon get another track at Masma.In Vadodara, the average waiting period has shot up to nearly two months from around three weeks earlier.“A lot of people are failing the car driving test after the introduction of the AI system,” an RTO official from the city said. “So, we have fresh applications along with applications for re-tests.”Ninety to 100 people take the car driving test at Vadodara RTO daily.Inputs: Nimesh Khakhariya (Rajkot), Tushar Tere (Vadodara), and Vishal Patadiya (Surat)
