Not all driving schools are running smoothly

Created: 02/21/2022, 06:22

Fuel prices, Corona and a shortage of driving instructors are currently causing headaches for the Dachau driving school instructor Walter Domaczyk.

©sim

The Dachau driving schools are also affected by the omicron wave of the corona pandemic: In some cases there are many cancellations, and driving lessons from the lockdown still have to be made up.

Another problem is the shortage of teachers.

Dachau – Many sectors are currently being affected by the force of the omicron wave.

Even if the courses are often tolerable for the vaccinated employers and employees, they are canceled for one to two weeks due to the quarantine regulations in their companies.

This currently also affects the Dachau driving schools.

Not only the driving instructors are affected, but of course also the learner drivers.

"I'm positive" - ​​driving instructor Walter Domaczyk hears this sentence every day on the phone.

He has been running "Walter's Driving School" in Dachau for 30 years and is also the regional chairman of the state association of Bavarian driving instructors.

That's why he knows that many driving schools in Bavaria are currently feeling the same way: fixed driving lessons and special trips are being canceled at short notice.

The financial loss is enormous in some driving schools.

But it's not just the failure of the driving lessons that causes him headaches.

The blatant shortage of driving instructors has occupied him and his entire industry for a long time.

"It's a family-friendly job," says Domaczyk, explaining the shortage of skilled workers.

With working hours until 11 p.m., the job is not exactly attractive for many.

Another factor is that the Bundeswehr no longer trains driving instructors who then switch to the private sector after their service.

If the loss caused by the canceled driving lessons isn't bad enough, "Walter's Driving School" is also depressed by the rapidly increasing fuel prices.

"Diesel has become 70 percent more expensive since November 2020," the driving school director calculated.

That means two to three euros more per driving hour.

In order to catch up financially at least a bit, he had to raise his prices.

From 49 euros in 2020 to 55 euros last year and 60 euros per driving hour this year.

On the other hand, things are going relatively smoothly at the Stadler driving school in Dachau.

Owner Alexandra Stadler, who has been running the driving school in the second generation since 2009, cannot complain.

“We have a lot of students and can fill up on canceled driving lessons,” says driving instructor Alexandra Stadler.

Due to the five-month lockdown in 2020, however, she is currently working on another topic.

She and her team still have to make up for the "postponement".

Because so far not all students have been able to make up for the unusual lockdown hours.

Nevertheless, she still accepts new learner drivers, of course.

Things got tight when one of their employees had to be in quarantine for ten days.

A number of exam dates had to be postponed.

But Alexandra Stadler was able to master that too.

The Reiser driving school also has no major reason to worry at the moment.

"We hardly have any breakdowns, it's nothing earth-shattering," reports driving instructor RolandCount.

If someone has to withdraw from the driving lesson at short notice because of a positive test result, it is “no problem” to find a replacement.

It's like any other winter, says Count.

He also has difficulties in recruiting new driving instructors for his school.

He sees the reason for this, among other things, in the high training costs incurred for the one-year training course.

Prospective driving instructors have to spend around 20,000 euros, which probably deters many, count fears.

As a trained driving instructor, you then have a practical guarantee of employment.

"It's worth it," as Roland Count emphasizes.

Simone Wester