76% hike in missed Derry MOT test appointments

The number of missed MOT appointments at the Newbuildings test centre in Derry increased by 76 per cent over the past five years, Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd has revealed.
By Kevin Mullan
Published 8th Apr 2024, 16:17 BST
Updated 8th Apr 2024, 17:09 BST
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Mr. O’Dowd was asked about the level of ‘no shows’ by the SDLP Infrastructure spokesman Mark H. Durkan.

Data from the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) show that 4,449 vehicles failed to attend a booked vehicle test at Newbuildings in 2022/23.

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This was an increase of 76 per cent from 2,526 non-appearances in 2018/19.

The Newbuildings MOT test centre.The Newbuildings MOT test centre.
The Newbuildings MOT test centre.

The number of missed appointments decreased during the COVID-19 period locally with 2,189 no shows in 2019/20 and 638 in 2020/21, rising to 3,064 in 2021/22.

But in 2022/23 Newbuildings had the third highest number of missed bookings in the North after Balmoral in South Belfast (4,844) and Newtownards (4,686).

Across the North as a whole the number of missed appointments rose from 32,270 in 2018/19 to 50,776 in 2022/23.

Related topics:John O'DowdMOTDerryMark H. DurkanDataNorth

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