Charles Amos: In defence of the driving test touts
Charles Amos critiques the recent government decision to limit driving test bookings to learner drivers, arguing that it won't effectively address exploitation by driving test touts. He believes that the price cap on driving tests will not help those in genuine need and may actually reduce consumer surplus. Amos suggests that a secondary market for driving tests could better reflect the needs of those seeking them, rather than imposing strict price controls.
- ▪The government has announced that only learner drivers can book driving tests, implementing a price cap of £62 on weekdays and £75 on weekends.
- ▪Amos argues that this price cap will not help those genuinely in need of a driving test and may exacerbate the issue.
- ▪He suggests that a secondary market for driving tests could better serve those who truly need them, rather than enforcing a price cap that could lead to inefficiencies.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Charles Amos is a PhD student in political philosophy alongside working in the haulage industry. He writes The Musing Individualist Substack in his spare time. The government recently announced that only learner drivers will be allowed to book their driving tests, meaning, an effective price cap of £62 on weekdays and £75 on evenings and weekends. This is aimed at cracking down on driving instructors and professional touts mass purchasing driving tests and then reselling them at a profit. Stopping this profit-making is supposed to end exploitation, uphold fairness, and ensure only genuine needs are met. This change to driving tests will not help the genuinely needy, its ambition to fairness is irrelevant, and, the exploitation mentioned is overstated at best to non-existent.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at ConservativeHome.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from ConservativeHome
