ATF operators happy with DVSA
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By Robin Meczes
THE DRIVER and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) — the body that will replace Vosa and the DSA in April — said that four in every five authorised testing facility (ATF) operators are satisfied with the overall service it provides.
A DVSA survey, based on 120 respondents, showed that 82% of responding ATFs were satisfied with its overall level of service, while 15% were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, and only 3% were dissatisfied.
Promising to address the small percentage of ATF operators who were dissatisfied, the DVSA said it would "strive to get this down to zero" by working with ATFs "to get things right".
It stressed that satisfaction levels with the staff it provides to perform vehicle tests is very high, with 91% of respondents declaring themselves satisfied or very satisfied on this score. However, the agency admitted that its payments system was more of an issue, with 20% of respondents saying they were not satisfied. "This is an area we are
addressing and are working really hard to improve," said the DVSA.
The survey is in contrast with one published in October by the ATF Operators Association (ATFOA), based on responses from 70 of its members. It suggested that only 3% of ATF operators felt investing in the ATF programme had been a good investment that they would repeat, and highlighted concerns among a majority of respondents about the fairness of Vosa's approach to levels of examiner utilisation, test period cancellations and
payment arrangements.
The agency has also confirmed the launch in spring of a Next Generation Testing (NGT) pilot scheme in south Wales. There has also been confirmation for a target of late 2014 for full rollout of the NGT programme, which should provide a range of more flexible arrangements around the provision of testing staff to ATFs via a dedicated central support team.
Last month ATFOA president Stephen Smith voiced concerns that NGT might be shelved when Vosa merges with the DSA (CM19 December 2013).