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New VOSA approach helps
Page 8
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to slash test waiting times
While a truck is undergoing its annual vehicle test, it is not making you any money, so a speedy turnaround is vital. VOSA listened and has tried to deliver.
CM COVER STORY By Christopher Walton TWO YEARS AGO, Commercial Motor conducted a survey of VOSA test station forward-booking times (FBTs) to mixed results Ole Good, the Bad and the Unobtainable', CM 8 February 2007). Previously, hauliers had to wait on average 5.9 days from booking an annual test to taking the truck in for the work to be done. The appointment was made by the haulier phoning its local test station directly and asking when the next available slot was. But in two short years, things have changed significantly VOSA began a six-month call centre trial in October 2007 at Shrewsbury and Yeading. It began to roll the approach out nationally from April 2008, with the final station incorporated in January 2009. So now everyone has to call a central call centre number (0300 123 9000), where 78 staff leave hauliers waiting an average of only 16 seconds to book a test. Since December 2008, hauliers also have the option of booking a single vehicle test online.
In a joint survey conducted by CM and its sister title Motor Transport, we endeavoured to repeat the test. However, we encountered a number of problems with the central call centre. most notably that it was unable to deal with calls from journalists asking to book a test. As a result, VOSA supplied its own internal figures for average waiting times (see table), which we have compared with bookings made through the online service.
Internal survey
VOSA conducts its own weekly survey of waiting times every Monday between 12pm and 4pm. so we tried to book a test by using www.transportoffice.gov uk at the same time on Monday 23 February and measured the results (see table).
According to the joint CM) MT research, the best place in the country to get a quick date for an annual test is the Midlands, with an average waiting time of just 2.6 working days. The worst region is Wales and the West Midlands at 5.7 working days.
The centralised booking approach that VOSA has adopted in recent months appears to be cutting average waiting times. In 2007, hauliers looking to book into Guildford test station faced a wait of 39 working days — the worst in the country. Now our survey shows the average wait is only 11 working days, while VOSA's average is 10 working days.
Some 22 stations have waiting times of one working day or less, compared to just 11 two years ago, the highest concentration of which is in the Midlands While 12 stations had waiting times of 10 working days or more two years ago, this year there are just six.
Despite the appearance that average waiting times having come down in the past two years, it hasn't stopped the industry complaining about the centralised nature of annual test bookings.
The Road Haulage Association's head of technical services, Steve Biddle. says: "There's been a lot of member criticism of the centralised call centre; many weren't happy at the loss of personal contact with stations and district managers. Some felt they had to go through an inflexible and unhelpful call centre all of a sudden."
Take it or leave it
Owner-driver Liam Quinn, of Quinn's Transport in York, says he has been lucky until recently when it comes to booking a test on time: "We are near Walton and Leeds test centres and we used to ring direct, but the choice is not there any more. It's all take it or leave it."
A spokeswoman for VOSA says: "VOSA is committed to providing test appointments as close as possible to the requested date, and has a target to offer 85% of tests, booked at least 10 days in advance, an appointment at the test station of choice within one working day of the requested date."
While CM:c experience with the call centre was similar (it couldn't give us with the information we wanted), centralised and online booking appears to have improved waiting times.