Presto Driving School has maintained the 1st place in the ranking since 2017, earning the title of the best driving school for the fifth year in a row. We especially appreciate Presto’s digital services: a remote booking system for driving lessons, an individual theory training schedule, and a personal user profile. Presto’s solutions remain the most modern on the market, ensuring a much more personalized approach and allowing students to conveniently track their lesson schedule.
Every Presto student receives access to a special benefits package designed to help prepare more successfully for the CSDD exam. These details distinguish Presto from other driving schools, as students receive not only the core service but also additional useful bonuses. Presto provides opportunities to diversify learning methods and formats.
On the website, students can access the Presto theory test — its questions are supplemented with educational materials that help deepen understanding of theoretical topics and fill knowledge gaps. By completing Presto’s CSDD-style practice tests, students compete for a monthly prize — a gift card for B category driving lessons. The competitive atmosphere makes theoretical training more engaging while also offering a chance to reduce the cost of obtaining a driver’s license. Studies show that gamification encourages learning motivation, making memorization easier.
CSDD statistics show that Presto students are among the best prepared among large driving schools. From 01.01–30.06.21, 97.35% of Presto students passed the theory exam on the first attempt, and from 01.08–31.01.21 — 95.68%. In B category driving exams the results were as follows: at the beginning of the year until 31.07.21, 38.85% passed on the first attempt, and from 01.07–31.12 — 35.45%. Compared with other large driving schools, the results at the end of the year were among the best.
The chances of passing exams at Presto Driving School are higher thanks to its modern training system — both instructors and vehicles can be changed freely. This modern and flexible approach gives students greater freedom of choice. The ability to change instructors also promotes more objective evaluation of abilities, helps avoid manipulation risks, and prevents unnecessary prolonging of the training process.
Since every instructor has their own strengths, certain topics may be easier to learn with one instructor than with another. If an instructor claims that a student is not yet ready for the exam but the student believes otherwise, Presto allows obtaining an independent opinion and taking the exam with another instructor. Because authority is not concentrated in the hands of just one instructor, students are in a stronger position — any Presto instructor (even in another city) can evaluate readiness.
Presto lessons can be booked every day, including weekends and holidays. Since driving lessons are available daily, the speed of completing the training depends largely on the student.
At the same time, students can practice driving with different cars, which is an important factor for performing better in the exam. In the CSDD exam, one of three different car models may be assigned randomly, so it is important to know how to perform exercises with each of them. If these skills are not learned during training, passing the exam can become significantly more difficult.
Additionally, regularly changing cars and instructors during training builds the psychological resilience required during the CSDD exam. Therefore, sitting in a new car with a new instructor no longer feels unusual — instead it feels familiar. Familiarity helps reduce tension and lowers the risk of careless mistakes.
To help students avoid wasting time on ineffective planning, the driving school blog provides step-by-step guidance explaining what should be done first and what follows next. One of Presto’s strengths is educating students about the training process, requirements and available options — information often overlooked elsewhere. Frequently, delays in training are caused not by negligence but by lack of knowledge. For example, understanding that admission to the theory exam requires a first-aid certificate is essential for effective time planning.
Time efficiency is also considered in everyday situations — for example, lesson times can be booked online 24/7 instead of arranging them via messages or phone calls. On the Presto website students can easily see available time slots for all instructors and instantly receive notifications if a lesson becomes available due to cancellation. Therefore the driving schedule does not depend solely on one instructor’s availability.
The online system provides all essential lesson information: car model, license plate, color, meeting location and instructor contact details.
Payments can conveniently be made directly on the website, meaning informal cash payments are not practiced. This indicates that both the school’s and instructors’ income is calculated transparently without bypassing tax obligations — an important criterion of a trustworthy driving school. Presto’s transparency is also demonstrated by making its contract available on the website, which remains a rare and unique practice among driving schools.
Another unique area where Presto stands out is film content. Students are offered witty, inspiring and motivational video stories. This year attention was drawn to the new project “Niklāvs laikā”, a three-episode remake inspired by “Back to the Future”. In previous years Presto has collaborated with influencers such as Evelīna Pārkere and the well-known Latvian group “Singapūras satīns”, motivating students not to give up on the path to obtaining their driving license. These creative projects can be followed on the Presto YouTube channel.
A special gift for Presto students this year is the newly created B category training ground at Eksporta iela 20, currently the largest driving school practice area in Riga. Thanks to this, practice sessions on the training ground are free for students. This allows savings of 15–30 EUR during training (which would otherwise be paid for using the CSDD training ground). Presto also covers the cost of using training grounds for B category practice in other cities. This demonstrates the school’s commitment to saving both time and money — key indicators of service quality.
Since Presto Driving School has the widest branch network, it is the most accessible driving school for the largest number of people in Latvia. It also provides the broadest practical training coverage and offers training not only in Latvian and Russian but also in English. This is a driving school that has considered everyone.
Just like last year, in 2021 Driving school DBS occupies the second place in the driving school ranking. This driving school stands out with special and unique training courses that significantly improve the overall driving culture on Latvian roads. The school ensures that drivers continue to be educated even after obtaining their licenses, giving them the opportunity to further improve their skills.
With courses such as winter driving and safe driving on slippery surfaces, the driving school occupies a unique niche without direct competitors. It also offers refresher training for driving skills, safe motorcycle riding, enduro motorcycle riding, and even private motorsport lessons with racing driver Jānis Vanks. While these courses cannot be used to evaluate the overall training quality in the driver’s license acquisition process, they clearly show that the driving school has a broader vision of driver education and does not stop at the goal of simply obtaining a license.
The driving school’s name accurately reflects its mission — to promote safe driving. This driving school is designed not only for future drivers but also for experienced ones. Such support after obtaining a license is not offered by other driving schools. This is a highly commendable contribution and demonstrates the school’s innovative and creative approach. With this, the school inspires others by showing that training quality can also be improved after obtaining a license — even though CSDD statistics will no longer measure it. Moreover, skills such as handling winter driving conditions may even save someone’s life.
According to CSDD exam results, this driving school also demonstrates respectable performance. During the period from 01.06.2021 to 30.11.2021, students passed the theory exam successfully in 94.27% of cases, while in B category driving exams the success rate was 40.40%.
The driving school also deserves recognition for its modern digital solutions. Although there is still room for improvement, it is clearly moving toward excellence. Like Presto, DBS also provides an online lesson booking system and allows each student to create a personal user profile on the driving school website. This demonstrates the school’s individual approach to each student and shows that care for students’ time and comfort is a priority. DBS students do not need to personally arrange lesson times by calling instructors and searching for someone available at a convenient time. Instead, a convenient schedule of all instructors is available online, showing available time slots. DBS also offers individual theory lessons to help students better prepare for the CSDD exam or refresh their knowledge. One-on-one lessons demonstrate exclusivity and allow each student to receive undivided attention.
Students are not tied to one specific instructor and can freely change instructors without providing explanations to the driving school administration. This helps avoid conflicts and prevents unnecessarily prolonging the training process if cooperation with a particular instructor becomes problematic while visiting other instructors would otherwise be restricted. Thanks to this flexibility, training can be completed faster, because if one instructor is unavailable on a given day, the student can visit another.
Although it is commendable that the driving school provides training with the Volkswagen Golf (one of the vehicles used in CSDD exams), students are not simultaneously prepared psychologically and technically to drive other models. Without experience driving Audi and BMW, if one of these vehicles appears in the exam, the chances of passing on the first attempt are lower. This can lead to additional costs for repeating the exam and a longer training process. In everyday situations, this lack of experience may also become noticeable when driving another vehicle brand.
There is also room for improvement in providing additional training materials that would help students better prepare for theoretical tests. It would be valuable if the driving school website included example theory tests, traffic rules, or other interactive educational resources. However, the driving school’s YouTube channel already features a news-style program that provides useful tips and demonstrates tricky intersections — which is certainly a step in the right direction and adds value to the training process.
DBS should also improve transparency: the website does not allow users to leave authenticated reviews. Instead, it only displays reviews added by the driving school itself in the form of interviews with selected students. As a result, future drivers cannot gain a broader understanding of real student satisfaction. As mentioned in last year’s review, the contract is also not available online. Unfortunately, the school has not addressed this issue and in 2021 it remains hidden until a user registers on the website.
DBS remains the most expensive driving school in Latvia, placing it in a separate category as elite and exclusive. Last year it was already observed that the number of students had increased, indicating that future drivers are willing to pay more while appreciating the school’s prestigious status.
Furthermore, this is one of the few driving schools in the industry that pays proper salaries to its employees and does not implement misleading discount schemes. This creates a healthy foundation for successful and fair cooperation between instructor and student. If other driving schools followed the DBS model, training prices elsewhere would also have to increase. Although many people might initially view this negatively, in the long run such an approach would save clients both time and money by ensuring a more efficient training process.
Driving school CredoAutoprieks has now held leading positions in our ranking for the third year in a row as one of the best driving schools in Latvia. According to CSDD exam success statistics, its students demonstrate confident results, which confirms the quality of the school’s training.
During the period from 01.01–30.06, 95.30% of Credo students successfully passed the theory exam on the first attempt, while from 01.07–31.12 the result was 93.35%. The results for driving exams were as follows: from 01.01–30.06, 36.50% of B category students passed the exam on the first attempt, while from 01.07–31.12 the result was 35.42%.
The driving school convincingly demonstrates openness toward clients, highlighting transparency and integrity as important values. The most important documents are freely available on the website, including the contract and internal regulations. Thanks to this, prospective students can carefully review the document content, verify price structures and possible limitations in advance so that they are not unexpectedly discovered later. This transparency confirms that the driving school does not intend to complicate the training process by hiding unfavorable terms for students in small print within the contract. CredoAutoprieks is one of the few driving schools in the industry that publishes such essential information openly on its website. Although this might seem obvious, unfortunately such practice is still not common among driving schools.
Another indicator of integrity is reviews — and they are freely available for viewing on the driving school’s website. At the same time, this section could be improved by introducing authenticated reviews, because currently reviews can be left simply by entering a name and email address. Therefore other users cannot fully verify their authenticity, as any visitor can submit them. If authentication through social networks were implemented, user identity verification would become much clearer.
The driving school’s support for students during the learning process is also highly appreciated, showing that the school truly takes steps to assist future drivers and provide additional support for successful exam preparation. In a dedicated section the school has compiled educational materials covering various topics. The school’s YouTube channel also deserves recognition, as it has actively published videos since last year. Humorous sketches serve as a creative addition to academically educational videos.
A particularly valuable advantage is the ability to freely change instructors, as the driving school’s bureaucracy does not complicate this process for students. It is even possible to drive with a different instructor in every lesson. This means that any misunderstandings or personal incompatibility do not have to be resolved through the driving school administration — instead, without unnecessary explanations, students can simply book a lesson with another instructor. The freedom to change instructors is key to a successful and positive learning experience, helping reduce training time, obtain more objective evaluations and save money.
However, compared with the first-place driving school in the ranking, CredoAutoprieks still has room for improvement, as registering for driving lessons is not yet a very simple process. This indicates that the driving school should improve its website and invest in digital development. To book a lesson, a student must open the profile of a specific instructor on the website and find the instructor’s contact information, followed by a phone call. Modern internet technologies would allow this task to be completed much faster by enabling online booking directly on the website. Unfortunately, students also cannot clearly see available instructor times, meaning scheduling a lesson at a convenient time may require several hours of effort. Students also cannot easily receive notifications if another student cancels a lesson. This is also inconvenient for instructors, as empty time slots remain unused. Such issues could easily be solved with an online scheduling system. From an IT perspective, the driving school still operates at the level of the previous decade.
The driving school stands out with a wide range of training vehicles available for lessons. Students can freely change not only instructors but also car models. This is an important factor both for preparing for real-life driving and for increasing the chances of passing the practical exam on the first attempt. Since CSDD may randomly assign one of three specific car models for the exam, it is important to practice exercises on more than one vehicle. Changing vehicles helps students prepare better both technically and psychologically.
In terms of number of students, CredoAutoprieks continues to hold leading positions, ranking second in this category in 2021. This confirms that it is a popular and well-liked driving school among students. The school also offers unusual professional development programs for driving schools, such as training for timber truck drivers and periodic training (Code 95) focused on forestry, forest work and equipment. These programs demonstrate the driving school’s valuable contribution to the industry, allowing driving skills to be applied in broader professional fields and helping improve professional qualifications.
Since last year, Driving school “Autoskola” has proven its development, therefore rising from fifth place in the ranking to fourth place. The quality of training and the trust shown toward the driving school are confirmed by a gradual increase in the number of students. This growth can be explained by the very attractive training price offered to clients, which is one of the lowest in the industry.
However, compared with the driving schools placed higher in the ranking, it must be acknowledged that the overall service quality could certainly be improved, and the driving school still has room to grow both in digital solutions and in its training approach. Although investing in improvements would mean increasing the overall price of training, in the long term it would help the driving school approach the level of excellence — something we wish for this promising driving school as it begins the new year.
The driving school’s exam results are commendable and, similarly to last year when the driving school first entered the TOP 5, they surpass the performance of other driving schools of similar size. The theory exam results are as follows: from 01.01–30.06, 93.37% of students at Driving school “Autoskola” passed the exam on the first attempt, while from 01.07–31.12 the result was 90.84%. The success rates in the driving exam are particularly high: from 01.01–30.06, 48.37% passed the exam on the first attempt, and from 01.07–31.12 — 45.06%.
The fleet of training vehicles offered by the driving school is very well considered and includes all three car brands used by CSDD: Audi A3, VW Golf and BMW. The opportunity to learn with different vehicles significantly increases the chances of passing the final practical exam on the first attempt. When performing exercises on the training площадка, it is important for students to learn the differences in performing the exercises with all three models. This helps improve both technical and psychological readiness. When changing vehicles becomes common practice during training, the vehicle lottery in the CSDD exam does not create additional stress. Experience with different cars gives students greater confidence in their preparation.
The training approach overall can be considered progressive, as the driving school does not follow outdated requirements. Students are given significantly more freedom in choosing instructors, allowing each student to find the one that best matches their personality and expectations. In order to ensure that personal incompatibility or misunderstanding does not hinder student progress, the ability to change instructors freely is a highly valuable right.
As already mentioned in last year’s review of the driving school, growth is still needed in the area of digital solutions. Unfortunately, in this direction the driving school shows stagnation. It is evident that the driving school has been slow to invest in the development of its website functions. However, such improvements would help offer students more efficient training both financially and in terms of time. Currently, booking driving lessons is done individually — the student finds the instructor’s phone number on the website and arranges the lesson time. However, it should be considered that instructors cannot always be reached at any time of the day, which means that scheduling lessons may require significantly more patience and time than if the same task could be completed through an online system. Because the lesson schedule is not transparent, training may also become unnecessarily prolonged. Since students cannot immediately see available lesson slots, opportunities to book convenient times are sometimes missed.
When evaluating the driving school’s transparency, it must be admitted that clients can only obtain partial and incomplete information about the training process. The driving school’s contract is still not available online, which is an important prerequisite for achieving the highest level of transparency. The absence of the contract unfortunately undermines trust — because if there is nothing to hide, why such caution? At the same time, the driving school provides a platform for authenticated reviews — they can be left on Google and Facebook. Reviews can also be published on the driving school’s website. It would also be advisable to enable authenticated reviews there, as otherwise other users cannot verify their credibility.
Overall, we evaluate that Driving school “Autoskola” has achieved a lot in recent years, growing and improving while already providing clients with notable advantages. At the same time, there is still room for further development and quality improvements.
For the first time in the history of this driving school ranking, Driving school AMV has also been included. It has mainly proven itself thanks to significant growth — overall, by number of students, the driving school has already entered the TOP 20 largest driving schools in Latvia. Currently it operates in 3 cities — Riga, Sigulda and Valmiera. The growth of the driving school is evidence of student satisfaction with the quality of training and the growing demand for its excellent instructors.
The relatively high training fee places the driving school among the more exclusive driving schools in Latvia. While this alone does not necessarily prove superiority in other categories, it suggests that the school is able to offer competitive salaries to its employees. And this is not an insignificant factor in ensuring that work is performed with full dedication.
A progressive approach to the training process is reflected in the driving school’s policy allowing students to freely change instructors. This allows each student to find the instructor they communicate with best and evaluate whose teaching style suits their personality and expectations the most.
When registering for lessons, students can also conveniently see which car a particular instructor uses for lessons. The list includes both VW Golf and Audi A3 models. These models are also used in CSDD exams. However, none of the instructors currently teach with a BMW, although this brand may also appear in the random selection of exam vehicles. Considering that BMW and Audi share the same reference points for exercises on the training ground, this shortcoming can partly be compensated by learning with the Audi A3. At the same time, students’ chances of passing the exam on the first attempt could certainly be improved if the driving school added at least one BMW model to its vehicle fleet. After all, even small technical nuances in driving this vehicle differ.
Considering the possibility at Driving school AMV to change both instructors and cars, it can be concluded that students are prepared more confidently both technically and psychologically. Both of these factors play an important role in performing at one’s best on the exam day.
At the same time, several weaker points can also be identified where the driving school could continue improving. One of these aspects is transparency — unfortunately, the website does not include a review section or a contract available for review before signing. Although the option to receive the contract by email after submitting a request is commendable, from the client’s perspective it would still be more convenient if the contract were published directly on the driving school’s website. However, compared with driving schools that only allow reviewing the contract in person, sending it electronically is still a positive point for this school’s transparency policy.
Another direction for improvement is the development of digital website features. In this regard, AMV does not fully utilize modern technological solutions that could significantly save students’ time. To register for driving lessons, it is necessary to call the instructor directly. At the same time, with the implementation of an electronic booking system this task could be completed at any time of the day with just a few clicks.
The direction chosen by Driving school AMV toward a modern and flexible training system is commendable. However, in order to move one position higher in the ranking, we wish the driving school continued development, making transparency and improvement of digital solutions a priority in the coming year.