New vehicles registered by driving schools in the Sultanate witnessed a significant drop of 27.8 per cent so far this year. According to data from National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), only 114 vehicles were registered by driving schools during the period from January to September 2017 against 158 during the corresponding period last year.
Instructors and experts unanimously admit that the fall is mainly due to the weak sentiments prevailing in the job market.
“The number of people aspiring to take a licence has slowed down since last two years. This is indicative of the absence of new entry by driving schools or individual instructors”, said Hameed al Wahaibi, an instructor.
It is not only that many driving schools are not buying new cars as result of uncertainty of a regular fixed income from the business, he said.
NCSI figures show that except for the rental market, registration of new vehicles in total suffered a fall of 21.5 per cent with commercial vehicles topping the table with 34.8 per cent drop.
Registration of new taxis also continues to be on the down side with 27.3 per cent fall.
According to Nasser al Balushi, another instructor in Ruwi, as a result of the recent warning by authorities of a fine and jail for breaching contracts with learners, many ‘rogue’ instructors have vanished from the scene.
In June last, the Public Prosecution warned that driving instructors who fail to fulfill contracts with learners could be fined up to RO 2,000 and jailed for one year.
Nasser said that the overall rise in fee for tests and charges by schools coupled with job uncertainty deter many from attempting to get driving licence.
“What we used to do in the past was to buy a new car using the loan facility and change it after its obligation ended. Now we cannot afford to do it as the number of learners coming to join us is narrowing down”, he said.
On an average, the majority of instructors including schools charge around RO 7 per hour. There are also all-inclusive packages varying between RO 350 and RO 500. At the same time, some instructors charge even up to RO 10 per hour.
Mohamed al Yakoobi, a retired defence personnel and an instructor, told the Observer that rise in fuel prices and competing rates being offered by some driving schools have made the business less rewarding.
“The introduction of public transport bus facilities including bus services and job market woes are restraining many expatriates to spend on licences and investing in cars. For the nationals, getting a licence is not as difficult as it is with expatriates”, he said.
According to a marketing manager with a leading automobile dealer, the market is undergoing a slowdown.
“Companies and people as well are very cautious with any investment especially in automobiles”, he said.
This is evident from the increase in the registration of car rentals, he said.
“Many companies are opting for rentals rather than making huge investments in buying cars”, he added.
SAMUEL KUTTY
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