Report details ‘pay-to-play’ practice for Mass. driver’s road tests
Getting on the road quickly might run an applicant far more than the standard $35 fee.
It costs $35 for a driver’s license road test in Massachusetts. But unless you’re willing to pay up to $195 more, that state fee might not get you on the road very quickly.
The New England Center for Investigative Reporting explored the practice of private driving schools blocking out time for tests at the Registry of Motor Vehicles over the weekend, calling it a “form of pay-to-play for road tests has evolved in recent years, severely limiting the average citizen’s ability to secure coveted appointments in a timely manner.’’
Applicants who pay the private companies have long been able to get access to road test examiners during hours when the RMV is usually closed. But according to the report, the RMV has recently scheduled times during normal business hours to test applicants who pay those companies—even if the customer did not take driving lessons from them.
In tandem with cutbacks in the number of test examiners at the registry and increased demand for the tests, the practice is “squeezing out members of the public who can’t, or won’t, pay anything more than the basic $35 road test cost,’’ the report says.
You can read the full report here.
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