Lleida will start offering practical driving tests on Saturdays from the second half of May. This measure aims to reduce the current four-month waiting list for around 5,000 people seeking a licence, according to the Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT).
The DGT proposed this plan to Lleida driving schools yesterday. It is part of a pilot scheme, also being tested in Navarra, which includes bringing in itinerant examiners to increase the number of tests available. José Crespín, the central government's sub-delegate, and M. José Soler, the provincial head of Traffic Headquarters, announced the initiative during a meeting with the Lleida Driving Schools Association. The association had described the situation as “unsustainable” in mid-April, with waits reaching up to four months.
Crespín stated, “We are facing a shock plan that requires a joint effort from both the DGT and the driving schools to organise this operation from the second half of May.” To help with this, the DGT asked driving schools to provide a list of students ready for their practical driving test. These extra Saturday tests will be exclusively for Class B (car) licences.
Driving Schools Seek Structural Changes
The Driving Schools Association acknowledged the DGT's “willingness to try and improve the situation, which has been absolutely unsustainable for years.” However, the association added that “if it is not accompanied by real structural measures, it is insufficient, because it does not address the underlying problem.”
Regarding the Saturday tests, the association said that “with the conditions proposed, it is a measure perceived in the sector as an absolute joke because it is limited to Lleida, leaving out students from La Seu, Solsona, Vielha, or Puigcerdà, it is only for Class B licences, and it has been communicated with absolutely insufficient notice.”
In the first quarter of this year, a total of 3,299 driving tests were conducted in Lleida. This figure represents a 1.02% decrease compared to the same period in 2025. The DGT hopes the new Saturday testing schedule and the use of itinerant examiners will significantly increase this number and shorten the queues for aspiring drivers across the region.
