How To Register for BTT

I haven't learned how to drive yet because my family doesn't own a car. Some people find that surprising, but if you're familiar with our circumstances, then you'd understand. Anyway, Singapore's public transport is quite sound in itself and anyway you calculate it, it's actually cheaper to just take a cab all the time.

With no car, I found no incentive to get a license. I mean, if it doesn't look like I'm getting a car soon, then why bother getting a license? What if I get a license, but because I don't have a car to drive, I lose the practical skills that comes along with the license, rendering it useless?

But anyway, recently, my dad has been strongly hinting at getting a car. And he doesn't have and doesn't intend to get a license...so that means that the car would be for me and my second brother. Excellent news! Talk about incentive.

What I did first was to read up on as much as I could about learning driving in Singapore. I went to ComfortDelGro Driving Centre's website (http://www.cdc.com.sg/users/homepage/index.asp) and it provided plenty of useful information. I asked my friends who have or are in the process of getting their licenses too for tips.

Basically, in Singapore, you have to do your BTT (Basic Theory Test) first. After your BTT, you get your PDL (Probational Driving License) and you can start taking practical lessons already. To finally get your license, you have to take your FTT (Final Theory Test) followed by Traffic Practical (TP).

The waiting time between booking your BTT and actually sitting for it is about two months! I booked mine today and will only be taking the test on May 6th. The same applies for FTT and your TP, I think.

So I headed over to the nearest Driving Centre (at Ubi) to register for BTT, which is to be done in person. It's near Eunos MRT apparently, but I took a bus there. It looks like a building from the 1980s. Like, seriously. You have to see it for yourself. Okay, found this image on GIS. Look at that! It's 2011 and it looks the same!



There are two ways you can take BTT: as a "student" of the school, or as a private candidate. I haven't thought about this point when I went, so I had to make a quick decision on the spot. Doing "school" or "private" have their own pros and cons.

I don't really want to dive into the details because there's too much, and they're actually beyond me. Essentially though, school is pricier but more structured as opposed to private which is more free and easy.

One thing you should take note is that once you pick "private" you have to stick with it all the way through. When you register for BTT, you register as a private candidate or as a student of the school. If you register as a student, you also enroll. Of course, it's more expensive.

I chose the private route because I think I'm good enough to do most things without the school's help and because I'm a cheapskate at heart. But to each his own! If money was no object, I would have taken school, I think.

The staff at CDDC were quite friendly, and they answered all my queries quite well, despite the fact that they probably get asked the same questions every single day. When you get there, you have to take a queue number. School and private take different queue numbers, take note!

The whole process is quite fast. About 30 minutes and you're done, I think. Bring along your IC, and NETs card. The fee is about...$17? $10 to open an account, about $7 to book the test itself.

And with that, your (and my) BTT is booked!