GTA driving instructors are growing increasingly frustrated with Ontario's DriveTest program and its road test booking system, which they say is glitchy, slow, causing delays for people trying to get licences and costing them business.

Leo Rajprohit, a Brampton driving instructor with 15 years experience, says his students are "fed up" with waiting months to book a driving test.

"It's painful and stressful for the students, who get mad at us, and we don't have any answers,"Rajprohit said in an interview.

Driving instructors like Rajprohit book road tests for their students, but they say an updated online reservation system introduced last September has been been unpredictable and unreliable.

Ontario's DriveTest centres manage licensing and driver examinations on behalf of the Ministry of Transportation (MTO). The service is operated by Serco Group, a U.K.-based multinational corporation, which is licensed by the MTO under a 10-year contract that began in 2013.

Driving instructor Leo Rajprohit is frustrated with the DriveTest system for booking road tests. (Grant Linton/CBC)

Responding to CBC Toronto's questions, the ministry said it "continues to work with Serco on the stabilization and enhancements of their systems to facilitate improved customer service and decrease waits."

"System enhancements may require a temporary shutdown across the booking system, but are scheduled to minimize the impacts on customers," an MTO spokesperson said in a statement.

A DriveTest centre in Etobicoke. (CBC)

The statement says a shutdown of the online booking system will result in increased call-centre traffic, causing potentially longer wait times and dropped calls.

Complaints

Multiple instructors tell CBC Toronto they are experiencing several problems with the DriveTest, including:

The website frequently crashes when new blocks of examination times are added.

The site rejects valid credit cards.

The DriveTest call centre is extremely hard to reach and, once connected, instructors say it can take up to two hours to speak with an operator.

Instructors say they have successfully booked road tests, arrived at the location, and are told by DriveTest staff that there is no record of the booking.

"The system cannot handle the load," another instructor, Ratish Saini, said in an interview.

"I have not booked an appointment in the last 10 days. I was not able to book online, because there's no appointment available, and I'm not able to connect to the operator."

Saini says DriveTest difficulties are hurting his business, as most students do not want to hire an instructor until they can get a road test.

Rocky Sood has tried all summer to book a road test for his son, who has been eligible to take one since June. (CBC)

In response to questions from CBC Toronto, Serco senior vice president Alan Hill says the booking system was updated to make it easier for "regular driver's licence applicants" to reserve road tests and prevent driving schools from claiming them all in advance.

"The system looks for a unique email address and a unique credit card for each driver's licence number. The system was designed to prevent customers from blocking a number of appointments, ensuring a fair distribution of appointments for all customers."

Busy summer

But it's not just driving instructors who are having difficulty.

Rocky Sood has been trying since June to book an appointment for his son, who returns to high school next week.They were hoping to complete a road test before classes begin.

"No luck. The website doesn't log in. The phone number that you call, they just say they're serving other clients," Sood told CBC Toronto.

His son, Ankush, is eager to get on the road by himself.

"My dad got me a car on my 16th birthday. I'm getting ready to get my G2, but it's unfortunate that their system is down," he said.

To address the service problems, the MTO says DriveTest has added staff, extended hours and made "work-flow improvements" at centres across the GTA and other areas, including London and Ottawa.

Rocky Sood thinks DriveTest wasn't prepared for the higher volume of drivers in the summer, when many teens try to complete driving school and take road tests.

"Every summer, we have so many students, eligible drivers coming up for the tests, so companies should be prepared,"Sood said.