HARRISBURG, PA. (WENY) – Pennsylvania State Representative Clint Owlett  (R – Tioga, Bradford, Potter), is calling on the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to resume driver license tests in rural areas.

For more than a year, license testing services across rural Pennsylvania have been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Owlett, this means people in such communities, such as Bradford and Tioga Counties, have had to travel “as much as an hour and a half” to take their license tests, despite the centers being open for driver license photos.

“No one should have to take a half or full day off work just to take a driver test,” said Rep. Owlett. “Government agencies should be all about customer service and convenience.”

To address the issue, Owlett has drafted the Rural Access to PennDOT Services Act, which would require PennDOT to reopen sites to the operational level they were at prior to the pandemic.

“I’m tired of rural Pennsylvanians being dismissed by this administration,” added Owlett. “PennDOT should show some respect to our rural residents and get the centers back up and running fully immediately.”

If passed, the bill would require services to reopen within two weeks of enactment.