Participants say driver mentor program is life changing, but the waitlist is long

On a quiet Hobart street, 27-year-old learner driver Taylor Allie is behind the wheel, preparing to take the test for a provisional licence this month.

But without her volunteer mentor, retiree David Laskey, in the passenger seat she said she would be at "square one" with a near empty log book.

The Hobart PCYC's Learner Driver Mentor Program, in its sixth year, pairs learner drivers who cannot access a supervisor or vehicle with trained volunteer mentors for free to help them complete the hours needed to sit the test for a provisional licence.

The program is currently supporting 24 learner drivers to become P-platers.

But there are more than 100 young people waiting for a spot in the program, with some waiting more than a year, because of high demand and a shortage of volunteer mentors.

Ms Allie, who did not have any family members to supervise her driving, waited a year for a mentor.

"It's been a very big barrier in my adult life. So it's going to be really rewarding to finally be able to drive on my own," she said.

Ms Allie hopes to pursue work in community services, but found many jobs required a driver's licence.

She said having her licence would grant her freedom and remove a major barrier to employment.

"It's a step forward to finally being able to have a job,"

she said.

"I'm really lucky to have found David and he's been a really cool mentor."

David Laskey said he had been volunteering as a driver mentor for a year.

He said he got involved to give back to the community and has helped three other learner drivers so far.

"I was quite shocked when my first learner driver told me that she'd been waiting for over a year," Mr Laskey said.

"In fact, my most recent learner driver has been waiting almost two years. So I think that's a real problem."

In Tasmania, learner drivers are required to complete 80 hours of supervised driving, including 15 at night, before they are eligible to sit their provisional licence test.

Year-long waits for learner drivers

Learner driver Hannah Robinson recently reached 65 hours in her logbook.

The 27-year-old moved to Hobart from Melbourne a few years ago to travel and work. But without a driver's licence, she found it difficult to get around outside the city.

"When I came here, I realised that having a licence was really important to be able to live my life," Ms Robinson said.

Without family members in Hobart, she initially relied on friends to supervise her, but found it difficult to ask given their limited time, fuel costs and the pressure of using their own vehicles.

"I don't have my parents here in Hobart … it's really hard to ask friends to do driving with you," Ms Robinson said.

She also found professional lessons "extremely expensive".

After a year on the waiting list, she was able to access sessions with the Hobart PCYC program.

She said the program has made her a confident driver, describing it as "completely life changing."

"It's been one of the most important things that's happened to me in the last few years, going from not having a license and not being able to get out of the city to being really close to getting my licence,"

Ms Robinson said.

"I'm so glad that I had the freedom to have the time to wait for that, but I know for other people, it's really hard when they live in a place without good public transport or they need it for work."

Professional lessons 'beyond means' of young people

Hobart PCYC general manager Allison Ritchie said demand continued to outstrip the supply of mentors.

As well as a lack of access to a vehicle or supervisor, Ms Ritchie said the cost of professional driving lessons was also pushing up demand for the mentor program.

The cost of completing the required logbook hours at a Hobart driving school can exceed $8,000 without multi-lesson discounts.

"There's just no way that many of the young people that access our learner driver mentor program would otherwise be able to get their licence," Ms Ritchie said.

The program currently has 22 mentors volunteering their time.

“We hate having a waiting list … so we would love to hear from more people who are keen to become mentors,” Ms Ritchie said.

She said the Hobart PCYC offered incentives for volunteers, including fuel cards and free access to its gym.

It also covers the cost of everything required to get involved, including a training course, a working with vulnerable people card, and a police check.

"Our mentors, they're not just providing learner driver lessons. They're providing the keys to education, to employment opportunities, and to independence for those young people that go through our program."

Mr Laskey said he had found mentoring enjoyable and a “really worthwhile activity".

He said he hoped getting more volunteer mentors on board would enable more young people to achieve their life goals faster, allowing them to enter the program within just “a few weeks or months” rather than years.

"I think that's something we should be able to fix."