Driving test shake-up will close 15 offices and cut 330 jobs

Ajovarma will close 15 offices and end the employment of about 330 people by the end of the year as CityKuljettajat takes over most driving test services, Yle reports.

CityKuljettajat won the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom’s competition for driving test services. The contracts, worth about 115 million euros, were signed during the summer.

Ajovarma retained driving test services only in Helsinki and Espoo. From the start of 2027, its operations will continue in those two cities, while 15 of its own offices will close. Vehicle inspection services operated by its parent company, A-Katsastus, will continue as normal at the company’s other 65 offices.

New locations planned for shopping centres

CityKuljettajat, which employed only 26 people in May, is now recruiting staff and looking for premises. The company plans to move away from traditional vehicle inspection environments and locate its services in central places such as shopping centres and near educational institutions.

“We want to make the premises easy to reach, for example in shopping centres or alongside educational institutions, so that even moped-age customers can get there by public transport,” CityKuljettajat chief executive Kirsi Tiainen told Yle.

The new premises must meet Traficom’s requirements. The agency defined permitted locations partly according to population density and required accessibility and good transport connections.

CityKuljettajat expects some former Ajovarma employees to apply for jobs with the company. Driving test examiners need specialised experience and training, but Tiainen did not give an estimate of how many former employees might be recruited.

Service network will shrink from 77 to 43 locations

The number of service points will be reduced nationwide from 77 to 43. Driving tests will be concentrated in more varied traffic environments, which is intended to provide a better assessment of candidates’ abilities. All theory tests will also be held as group tests, while customers will increasingly be directed to the electronic Oma asiointi service.

From the start of 2027, DEKRA Katsastus will provide theory test and permit services in Helsinki, Espoo, Ikaalinen, Pori, Tampere and Jämsä. Ajovarma will provide driving tests in Helsinki and Espoo, while CityKuljettajat will provide driving tests in Ikaalinen, Pori, Tampere and Jämsä.

CityKuljettajat will provide driving, theory test and permit services in Hyvinkää, Järvenpää, Lohja, Porvoo, Vantaa, Tammisaari, Forssa, Hämeenlinna, Rauma, Salo, Turku, Kotka, Kouvola, Lahti, Lappeenranta, Mikkeli, Savonlinna, Iisalmi, Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Varkaus, Äänekoski, Nurmes, Kokkola, Seinäjoki, Vaasa, Ylivieska, Kajaani, Kemi, Oulu, Rovaniemi, Kuusamo, Raahe, Kittilä’s Sirkka, Sodankylä and Ivalo.

CityKuljettajat also wants to move away from the traditional Finnish term “inssi” for a driving test. Tiainen said vehicle inspection engineers inspect cars, while driving test examiners assess people’s driving ability. Traficom has also used the term driving test rather than “inssi” for several years.