Bristol has lost more than 100 driving instructors in the last six years - and the number keeps growing.
There were 516 approved driving instructors registered in BS postcodes at the end of 2018, according to new data from the Department for Transport.
That was down from 532 at the end of 2017.
The number had previously dropped, year-on-year, from as many as 618 in 2012.
Anyone who wishes to charge money for driving lessons must either be on the register of approved driving instructors, or have a trainee driving instructor licence.
The register is maintained by the ADI registrar on behalf of the DVSA.
Candidates have to pass a “fit and proper person” test which includes, for example, checks on whether someone has points on their licence, has been convicted of a criminal offence, or is on the sex offenders register.
All instructors must be 21 or older and pass three tests - a theory test, a driving ability test, and an “instructional ability test”.
This involves giving an hour-long lesson to a pupil while a DVSA examiner checks for competence.
Nationally, the number of driving instructors increased last year - arresting a long-term decline.
Across the UK, the number of approved driving instructors fell year-on-year from 46,612 in 2011 to 39,259 by the end of 2017.
That figure has since risen - albeit only slightly - to 39,408.
