Hong Kong driving schools slammed over opaque fees, insufficient training hours
Consumer watchdog says courses at 11 driving schools fell short of 30-hour training requirement, forcing students to buy extra lessons
Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has slammed driving schools over opaque fees, with one charging nearly twice the quoted rate for extra lessons to meet the minimum number of training hours.
The Consumer Council said on Monday that all 32 basic courses offered by 11 driving schools failed to meet the Transport Department’s requirement of 30 hours of practical training, forcing students to buy extra lessons and go over their original budget.
“The current situation is not ideal, as the packages cannot give consumers a clear idea of how much they have to spend before getting their licence,” council chief Alaina Shum Jiu-fai said.
The council found that the package with the fewest number of practice hours offered only 10 hours of training, while the one with the most offered 27 hours and 45 minutes.
“If the practical training hours included in a package cannot give learners sufficient confidence for the road test, they often need to purchase additional lessons to gain more experience, which may lead to budget overruns,” the watchdog said.
A survey of 324 respondents found that more than 30 per cent had received over 30 hours of driving training before passing the road test.