2025 marked the year when artificial intelligence reached maturity. AI helps us monitor and analyse information in an objective and ethical way. We also recommend that you use AI when analysing driving schools, but make the final decision yourself.
This year, the number of votes submitted on the portal for instructors, lecturers, and driving schools exceeded the total of the previous four years combined. We appreciate your engagement and trust in our work. In this context, we would like to clarify that your votes account for 50% of the TOP rankings, while the remaining 50% is determined by an independent evaluation from our expert jury. Your feedback will be reflected in the driving school ratings.
In Latvia’s driver training industry, 2025 was marked by a period of significant discussion, particularly around the quality of training and the difficulty of examinations. The industry became increasingly data-driven, with driving school performance being publicly analysed and compared, creating both stronger competition and greater transparency.
One of the central issues was the public debate regarding the very low pass rates for driving exams. Approximately two out of three students in Riga fail the driving test on their first attempt, which triggered widespread discussion in society. This situation raised questions about the effectiveness of the training process, the quality of preparation provided by driving schools, and the level of exam difficulty.
However, discussions often overlooked the fact that the driver training industry primarily uses diesel vehicles, while due to changes in the CSDD vehicle fleet, exams are conducted using petrol cars, which are significantly more sensitive. Differences between regions were also not highlighted — it is considerably more difficult to pass the exam in Riga than in regional CSDD centres, where there are only a few traffic lights.
At the same time, 2025 further strengthened the trend of evaluating driving schools based on objective data. CSDD statistics became the main criterion for comparison, and theory and driving exam results were increasingly analysed in the public domain. This encouraged a shift where driving schools were evaluated not based on advertising or subjective recommendations, but on measurable performance indicators. As a result, customer behaviour also became more rational and data-driven.
Positive developments in the industry were mainly driven by digitalisation and the modernisation of training. Customers increasingly expect a digital experience, and driving schools are gradually transforming into education technology companies.
However, alongside these positive trends, the industry continued to face long-standing issues. One of the biggest challenges was aggressive price competition, especially in theory training. The market saw offers at very low prices, which attracted customers but often resulted in lower preparation quality. This, in turn, negatively affected exam results and increased overall costs for students in the long term.
Public discourse increasingly focused on the responsibility of driving schools to prepare students not only for exams but also for real traffic conditions. Media criticism highlighted that some schools prioritise volume over quality. Additionally, the topic of gender differences in exam results gained attention, with women statistically failing driving exams more often, raising questions about the objectivity of the system.
Overall, 2025 reinforced several long-term trends in the industry. Firstly, quality became more important than price, as customers became more aware of total costs. Secondly, digital solutions became an integral part of training. Thirdly, data transparency became a key factor in building trust.