Poor response to driving school
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, May 11
Even as the District Transport Department (DTO) has set up a driving school on an automated track with the help of a leading automobile company, there are a few takers for this facility, it is learnt.
The school provides around 18-day training course to the applicants. Sources blamed the poor response to lack of publicity among the general public about the opening of this facility.
The driving school was opened around two months ago. Its objective was to provide training to people interested in learning four-wheeler driving on the automated track, opposite the historic Gobindgarh Fort here. The driving school charges Rs 2,875 per person for imparting training. During the course, trained instructors provide eight days’ theory and 10 days’ practical training to the applicants. At least eight persons can be trained during working hours daily.
A candidate first gets training on a simulator machine, which has been installed in a room at the automated track. They are also trained to follow traffic norms. After a few days, they are also imparted training to drive four-wheelers on the road.
A DTO official said only around eight persons approached the school in the first month of its opening, adding that the driving school was still awaiting a good response. “I think lack of awareness among the people and poor publicity by the department concerned has led to this poor response,” he said. He added that people prefer to get driving training from roadside car drivers, as they charge less money as compared to the driving school. Kanwaljit Singh, district transport officer, said he did not know how many people were getting training at the driving school. He admitted that there was poor response from the public, adding that he would look into the matter and try to devise ways to attract more people to the school.
