Thursday, January 28, 2021

Covid-19 and the Driver's License Story

 It's one of those peculiar topics that no one has discussed much in Germany, and it was up today by RBB (the public TV folks in Berlin-City): getting your license during Covid times.

For those who didn't know....getting a drivers license means you go down to a professional trainer office....signing up....doing in-class training, and then having around twenty-odd trips driving a car under a trainer.  At the end, you'd be tested, and get your license.  Most Germans will tell you that it's fairly stressful, and not that easy.

Well....RBB told the story of how things work in the Covid-era.  For several months now....the schools have been mostly shut-down.  Unless you were going for a cab-driver license, chauffer license, or freight-vehicle license.....nothing is going on.  The trainers?  All on short-time work and marginally making any real money.

The current rumor.....they will open around mid-Feb.  

Backing up the student list?  No doubt.  The odds of this Feb opening?  I'd probably give it less than a 30-percent chance.  

What this means if it's backed up to Easter?  You'd have tens of thousands of Germans on some long list who'd like to wrap up their license in 2021, and probably challenged a great deal in terms of getting open spots on the schedule.

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