Johnston's Vancouver GLP Driving School

Johnston's Driving School was worth every penny. I would love to thank the 3 instructors that I was paired with (Mr. Chonker, Mr. Werner, and Mr. Doug) for teaching me all of the proper ways to operate a car safely while also having the patience teaching a new student. I would also love to give a huge thanks to Naj for going to extreme lengths to accommodate my driving exam. 5/5 stars

I didn't pass my test today but it was 100% my fault. Doug is an amazing teacher. He's super funny and taught me so much. I'll probably be taking more lessons and hopefully pass my next road test.

This place is terrible. My friend was taught at this school and he’s a terrible driver. I’m not sure how he passed his driving exam. I’ve been in the passenger seat and witness to many very close calls where he wasn’t equipped to handle the situation. I believe his instructor was Doug. It’s atrocious that he was passed and I believe this school is a scam. Beware.

Top notch school! We send drivers here regularly to qualify experience and polish up any skills for our moving business. Naj is always very accommodating and the quality of instructors are excellent.

No reminder of expiring driving lessons for the 12 month period. No extension or grace period during the start of the Covid 19 pandemic.

Excellent driving Instructors especially Mr. Juan, He is very professional, patient and an excellent teacher. This driving school is very prompt in responding and good value for money. Highly recommended.

I booked 16 lessons for 24 hours total of training over the course of 6 months, as an adult first time driver. Naj facilitated the bookings with consistent and clear communication, and was accommodating with my schedule. I mainly had Juan as my instructor; he was patient, kind, and gave instructions in an easily understood manner, with helpful reminders. He was also very encouraging and pleasant company in the car to chat with when I was feeling more comfortable, but also respected the times when I needed silence to focus on driving safely. With his guidance, I was able to pass my road test on the first try. Highly recommend this service for anyone of any age looking to learn or to improve their city driving and gain confidence in many situations.

I booked at least 30 lessons in the span of 2 years and I failed all 3 tries of my road tests. Ended up having to retake my written test. I had 3 different coaches from the school and they did not prepare me for the road test. I would not recommend the school

I had a really great lesson with the driving teacher but unfortunately I had an absolutely TERRIBLE experience with the school itself. On one of my lessons which I had pre-paid for, the car broke down around 20 minutes into our hour and a half lesson. It took someone from the school 45 minutes to come and give us a new car and at that point we only had time to drive back to my house. When I called a few weeks later to discuss this (I was very busy at the time and didn't have time to call earlier) they told me they were not willing to give me any money back and there was nothing they could do for me. When I asked to speak to management they told me this was not an option. I called twice more and was told that I would get an email from management (I did not), and later was told I would get a call from management (I did not). I was told that there was no one else I could speak to and was refused any contact info for management, even though "management" was supposedly the ones making the decisions. I'm normally pretty easy going but this was honestly an incredibly frustrating experience and I would absolutely not recommend using this driving school.

I personally wouldn’t recommend.it’s really messy.there’s one really good instructor but I forgot his name, rest of them are not that good

Great experience with the school. Everything was smooth and easy from the beginning. Reminder for appointments were received days in advance. Instructors were knowledgeable and great. I highly recommend.

I had a horrible experience with this school. Very messy administration, lots of unanswered emails, messy online systems, making it very difficult to book lessons. The instructor stressed me out by constantly talking in my ear, raised his voice when i made mistakes, and did not help me build confidence in my own judgement. Had to pay for extra lessons at another school that actually taught me to drive.

Only got locked into this school for its the GLP package, otherwise i would avoid this school at all costs. Waste of money, and the instructors are hazards to new drivers.

Horrible driving school. Juan is an amazing teacher and that’s all that I can say that is good. Other then that the guy you call organizes horribly and messed up my road test package. DO NOT TAKE THIS SCHOOL. Spend your money elsewhere

Costumer service was great, regretfully the classes were not. I bought 2 lessons and the Road Test package to pass my road test as an experienced driver new to B. C. The instructor was impatient and often disrespectful, raising his voice, intervening regularly by taking over the wheel and the pedals. Yes, driving in Canada is different and there are plenty of things you need to learn in order to pass your test and drive safely here, but it only takes a bit of learning that every experienced driver can do and does not merit unprofessional treatment. I was so stressed after my 2 classes a day before the test that I had to call a friend who had recently passed the road test. He took me out on a drive to review things calmly, which was bigger support than the one provided during the class. The instructor also over-dramatized the road test context, insisting that I would be pressured by the evaluator. This was not the case, the evaluator was calm, clear and neutral and I passed the road test, albeit the tension and stress the driving instructor had generated. There are likely cheaper and more professional driving school options out there.

The instructor was late in bringing me back to ICBC Centre for the road test. As a result, the staff and examiner asked why I was late. After writing a complaint letter to the driving school, they did not admit their mistakes, and refused to refund a portion of the fee. From my experience, once they accept the payment, they won't provide a good quality of service.

Finally I passed my driving test!
Everything was good, nice crew and instructor!
Thanks!

Awesome driving school. Would've taken lessons earlier had I known it'd be this easy. Lady on the phone was nice and got me setup with a teacher right away. Was lucky enough to get Werner as my teacher. Real lay back and understanding guy. Helped me get comfortable on the road and corrected certain mistakes I made without making me feel bad. Also gave me some good tips to avoid bad driving habits. Would totally recommend this driving school to anyone that wants learn to drive. Great learning experience and helpful people

I had a couple of lessons here with 3 different instructors, and they teach different ways which can be a bit confusing to learning drivings like me.

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME! I don’t know how it is that this driving school manages to get such a high reviews rating online. I have been trying for weeks to just get a hold of them. They have a really nice website with lots of good information and great testimonials but they are simply IMPOSSIBLE to get a hold of. I have called numerous times over the past weeks. I left several voicemails, and did not receiving any call back. I have tried texting but would not receive a response. I left an online request for a call back and I have not heard back (it says online that I would get a call back within 24 hours too). Miraculously today, I called and someone answered, but she immediately put me on hold, and then hung up on me. This was the last straw for me. I gave up finally today and managed to call another driving school who picked up my call right away and booked immediately with me.

The reason why I kept trying to reach them is that I read the reviews online saying that they are good and that they are close to where I live. BIG MISTAKE! On closer review, I found that there were actually lots of complaints on the same issue too. This has been going on for quite some time and the owners have not addressed it. DON'T BOTHER WASTING YOUR TIME AND MONEY ON THIS DRIVING SCHOOL!

I booked a GLP course with this school. However, a family emergency has come up and I need to go away, so I tried to re-book my lessons - this school is impossible to contact now. They refuse to deal with you over the email, they never return calls, and whenever I call myself a man answers who says he's not able to help me, asks to leave my name and phone number, and that's it. I am now just hoping that I will be able to get my money back

Outstanding driving school! Dragoslav is a great instructor. Dragoslav calmed my daughter's nerves and taught her to drive very well. She passed today ('N') and she is very excited. I wish I would have enrolled my daughter with Johnston's driving school at the onset of my daughter getting her 'L'.

Johnston's driving school was a great experience, I really enjoyed learning from my instructor and the booking process was very easy.

Zero experience driving to N on my first try!
I purchased 16 lessons, plus the exam warm-up, I had no other driving practice outside of this. Because of my very limited availability, I had lessons with 3 instructors, all of which were incredibly knowledgable. I had the bulk of my lessons with Norbert, I found him to be a very calm and patient which worked very well for me. I felt very well prepared for my road test after my lessons with Norbert. I passed my road test the first time that I attempted it, I believe this was largely due to Norbert being such a great teacher. I chose Johnston's driving school on the recommendation of a friend and I will be recommending Norbert to anyone learning to drive! Thanks.

Some instructors are better than others. The car I got for the road test was in a barely serviceable condition and very different from the lesson cars.

I purchased the road test package with these guys. My original class 5 road test was scheduled for November (3months from now), but somehow I managed to get a road test spot in 3 days. With such short notice I called Johnston’s driving school and they managed to book me in. With the road test packing you do a 45 min warm up before your road test and you get to use their vehicle. At that point I haven’t driven in a few months and I was worried if 45 min wasn’t enough time to get used to the vehicle. Thanks to my excellent instructor Naj, he showed me the routes they might use and exactly everything I needed to know as a refresher. 45 min was also plenty to acclimate to the car’s handling. Thanks to Naj I passed on my first try!

Ok, soo.where do I start. Well I passed the road test on the first try yesterday. Maybe nothing too difficult for someone but, it's a huge success for someone who has been anxious about driving forever to the point of having night mares about having to drive somewhere. Mr. Werner thought me an essential life skill and I will never forget him. I just took 4lessons with him, before I got the only appoitment available in Summer in a town I've never been to before. Mind, my husband was getting crazy about my lack of technical skills needed for driving. 3 weeks ago, he was teaching the reverse and parallel parking using the hot wheel cars.:) 4 lessons later with Mr. Werner plus 3 lessons with a different driving school in the actual town of the road test and I passed on my first try! My husband got me a new washer and dryer and the dishwasher for this yesterday! I mean, I also prayed, which helps too and also took it easy as I didn't expect to pass. So THANK YOU Johnston's driving school! Can I rate it with 10 stars? All the best to you and all your students (my friend, who recommended JDS also passed on her first try.)

The worse driving school in Vancouver. It's not the instructors but it's the staff who is unable to answer the phone or book your lessons. I booked all my lessons months in advance when I was able to get a hold of a staff, but they had to reschedule most of my lessons to accommodate other students. Then for the road test, on the day of the exam, they provided me with a different instructor and a different car that I was unfamiliar with. They really don't care that you pass or fail.

EDIT: Neivy has reached out to me to apologize for the miscommunication. She explained that the office has been having a phone issue which should be resolved now - which is why no one has been picking up the phone - and has offered to compensate me with a lesson. I decided to stay with Johnston's Driving School because I do not wish to waste more time and lessons exploring other driving schools and new instructors. I have been with four different instructors at Johnston's Driving school (not by choice) and found that Norbert was the best.

Over the last 6 months, I have been taking lessons at Johnson’s Driving School. It was money well spent. I had three different driving instructors Doug, Nej and Warner. All three of these instructors have been working in the driving industry for countless of years and have been former road-test driving instructors themselves for ICBC. Each of them provides world class driving knowledge and they really care about you improving your driving skills. All three instructors really love teaching students and as the student you will have an amazing time learning from them. In terms of teaching, the instructors offer amazing detailed advice on what to look out for both on the road test and in normal life driving situations. They will also take you on ICBC test routes to simulate real-life ICBC driving tests. As a student, you will build up driving confidence and you feel motivated to not just pass your road test but to also become a better driver for life. For someone who is forgetful, I passed my class 5 road test on the first try due to their teachings and ICBC driving test practices.
I would highly recommend this driving school. If you are a student eager to pass your next road test, this is the driving school for you. If you are a parent, looking for a school that provides world-class instructors, this is the school to register your son or daughter for.
Even though, I passed my Class 5 test, I will still be taking driving lessons from this school. You know that saying “Learn for life, ” you can never learn enough ways to get better at driving from this driving school while enjoying the learning process.