Thiruvananthapuram: Following widespread complaints about delays in driving test appointments, the Kerala government has introduced temporary changes to speed up the process.

For the next three months, driving tests will be held five days a week, with the number of daily test slots increased to 50.

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Earlier, when K.B. Ganesh Kumar served as Transport Minister, the daily slot allocation had been reduced from 60 to 40. The revised arrangement raises the number to 50 slots per day.

Under the new system, 28 slots will be reserved for fresh driving tests and 20 slots for retests. The remaining two slots have been set aside on a priority basis for applicants who need driving licences urgently to travel abroad for employment or higher studies.

The reform is expected to significantly reduce waiting times, particularly at Sub-Regional Transport Offices (Sub-RTOs), where driving tests were previously conducted only three days a week. They will now be held on all five working days.

Officials said the arrangement has been introduced as a temporary measure to prevent a large backlog of pending applications.

In addition to the changes in driving tests, the Transport Commissioner has directed officials to reduce delays in issuing learner’s licences. RTOs have been instructed to provide learner’s test slots within eight days of an application being submitted.

Authorities clarified that these measures are being implemented on a trial basis and that long-term policy decisions will be taken only after a detailed assessment of the reforms over the next three months.