SINGAPORE — Taking lessons to seek a driving licence has become more expensive, with the three driving centres in Singapore raising fees from Jan 1.

At Singapore Safety Driving Centre (SSDC) in Woodlands, the cost for mandated simulator training has risen by 25.2 per cent, from $24.38 to $30.52 per session.

Theory lessons saw a 23.1 per cent cost spike, from $17.71 per 100-minute session in 2025 to $21.80 in 2026.

At Bukit Batok Driving Centre (BBDC), a 100-minute practical driving lesson during peak time slots, such as 7.20pm to 9pm on weekdays, now costs $86.11, a 6.8 per cent hike from the previous $80.66.

The price for a peak-period practical driving lesson at ComfortDelGro Driving Centre (CDC) in Ubi has gone up by 9.3 per cent, from $81.75 to $89.38 per session. Peak periods at CDC are from 10.20am to noon and 4.25pm to 10.20pm on weekdays, and all time slots on Saturdays and Sundays.

A CDC spokesperson told The Straits Times that the rate for practical lessons was last updated in April 2024.

There are two types of driving licences for vehicles weighing not more than 3,000kg. Class 3 licence holders can operate all motor cars under this weight limit, and Class 3A holders are restricted to automatic vehicles, which do not have a clutch pedal.

The majority of candidates for these two driving licences enrol in the driving centres, rather than use private instructors.

Between November 2024 and October 2025, there were 20,124 candidates who took their Class 3 driving test for the first time, with 62.6 per cent being learners from the three driving centres. In the same period, there were 25,981 first-time candidates for the Class 3A driving test, with 60.9 per cent taking classes at the driving centres.

Candidates who fail the test can retake it.

CDC also implemented a 12.1 per cent hike in the cost of simulator training, from $27.03 to $30.30 per 20-minute session. The centre's spokesperson said this is the first price revision since the training course was introduced in December 2019.

The price revisions have been extended to motorcycle and heavy vehicle driving licence seekers.

At SSDC, rental of heavy vehicles for driving tests jumped by 26.3 per cent, from $207.10 to $261.60.

At BBDC — which will be replaced by a multi-storey driving centre in Choa Chu Kang by December 2030 — peak-period practical lessons for motorcycles with engines exceeding 400cc now cost $47.96 for a 100-minute session, up 10 per cent from $43.60.

CDC and SSDC announced their 2026 fees in November, while BBDC published its 2026 prices on Dec 24.

In response to The Straits Times, CDC's spokesperson said the adjustments are to support salary revisions for its instructors so that their wages would be market-competitive; manage rising costs; and fund technological initiatives that help student learning.

SSDC's spokesperson said the new prices were "implemented to ensure business continuity and to allow us to provide even better services to our customers".

BBDC did not respond by publication time. 

Some learners said they have no choice but to stomach the higher costs.

Since November, Temasek Polytechnic student Javion Lim, 18, has taken three practical driving lessons at SSDC and has another 12 or so to go.

He said: "It is quite annoying. Even though the increase is not a lot, I still have many lessons to go, and the cost will really add up."

He pays an additional $10 to $15 per session to "campers" to get his lesson slots. These are individuals or automated bots that snatch the slots the moment the driving centres release them.

He resorted to this approach when he found that it was nearly impossible to book directly, as slots are taken up almost instantly upon release.

ST reported in May that learners resorted to using automated bots, or paying someone on local online marketplace Carousell to secure lessons, so as not to prolong the time needed to get their licences.

The driving centres attributed the long wait for lessons to a shortage of instructors. It was reported in April 2024 that the three centres have around 700 instructors, down from 845 in 2022.

The centres acknowledged the booking issue, and have implemented policies like suspending accounts found to have used bots or computer programme scripts to secure slots.

To avoid resorting to unofficial methods, Temasek Polytechnic student Claire Ho, 18, opts for CDC's premium coaching schemes. In return for paying up to $16.35 more than for standard driving lessons, the schemes offer benefits, including a dedicated team of trainers and the same training car for every session.

She said that, with this service, she has bagged nine slots for January and February, ahead of her driving test.

Others, like Reyes Teo, have turned to private driving instructors. The 27-year-old marketing executive engaged such an instructor after he found in June 2025 that he had to wait six months to get his first practical lesson at CDC.

While a 100-minute practical driving session at CDC costs up to $89.38, Teo pays his instructor $65 an hour, or $115 if the lesson uses the driving centre's circuit.

On the rising costs, he said: "Lessons are already expensive as it is. It is as if the system doesn't want more drivers on the road."

The Traffic Police, which have stopped issuing new private driving instructor licences since 1987 as part of Singapore's drive to professionalise driver education, said there were 254 such instructors as at June 1.