UK drivers can celebrate this month as it has been confirmed that it will cost 32% less to apply and renew their driving licences.
From the 31st October 2014 the price of a provisional licence is set to drop from £50 to just £34 while the 10 year renewal of licences online will cost motorists just £14 instead of the previous £20.
Licences aren’t the only aren’t the only thing seeing a dip in costs; tachograph cards – used by businesses to monitor how far staff drive by recording drive time, speed and distance information – are also falling from £38 to £32 at the end of the month.
The new costs are set to save new drivers £82.2million over the next decade with businesses and motorists set to save a total of £150million by 2024.
According to the AA index, these drops are in contrast to that of insurance, which saw a rise for the first time in more than two years in the last quarter. An annual comprehensive motor insurance policy increased by an average of £6 to £531. This went against the motoring organisations expectations, as efforts to clamp down on fraudulent insurance claims didn’t deliver the savings anticipated.
The provisional licence cuts are set to make a big impact in costs however; the DVLA will process a million ‘first licence’ applications every single year and a huge 77% of these are from 17-24 year olds.
“The cost of driving, especially for young drivers, can be significant and we are committed to cutting costs where we can,” explains Transport Minister Claire Perry.
“‘Thanks to DVLA making large-scale savings to their running costs, we have been able to cut the cost of the driving licence which will save drivers and businesses £150million over the next 10 years.”
However, it’s not just new drivers set to reap these benefits – current motorists are expected to collectively save £61.3 million on renewed photocard licences over the next decade and businesses are set to save £2.44 million on licence renewals and £3.58 million on cuts to tachographs in the same time scale.
“Giving savings back to the taxpayer is a key element in this government’s drive for a stronger economy and a fairer society” explains Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander. “That’s why we’re slashing the cost of getting a driving licence and giving it straight back to young people and businesses, saving £150 million over 10 years.”
Looking to the future, vehicle first registrations and duplicate registration certificates are also being considered for price cuts.
Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation added that “The Department for Transport’s own surveys show the three things that do most to put young people off driving are cost, cost and cost: of learning, of insurance and of buying a car. Incomes for teenagers have been under downward pressure at the same time as motoring costs have generally been rising. This move is welcome.’