MPI opening road testing centres on Sundays, hiring more examiners in effort to clear backlog

Manitoba's public auto insurer announced it's taking measures to try to clear a backlog of people waiting to take a road test for their Class 5 driver'slicence.

Manitoba Public Insurance announced it is opening the locations on Bison Drive and Gateway Road in Winnipeg on Sundays, as well as offering paid overtime for employees to work on days off.

It will also offer rural instructors overtime hours to work in Winnipeg on days off, and hire up to 20 new examiners.

The harsh weather this past winter caused many road closures and appointment cancellations, which added to an existing backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, MPI said in a news release.

MPI expects the measures to increase testing capacity by 50 per cent.

The Bison Drive and Gateway Road locations will be open on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. People can start booking appointments Aug. 31.

Only road test services will be available on Sundays.

Students who pass the test will receive documentation to be brought to either an Autopac agent or an MPI service centre during normal business hours to complete the licensing process.

A Class 5 licence allows a driver to operate passenger vehicles and light trucks.