TORONTO, ON – “Aspiring truckers have a better chance of passing their road tests at most DriveTest Centres in smaller communities than they do at Toronto-area testing facilities…”

That’s the beginning of a story from Monday in a Toronto newspaper in which it reported its investigation found testing pass rates for would-be Ontario truck drivers looking to get their Class-A licenses are higher in small towns than compared to taking their examinations in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

According the Toronto Star, it obtained the data through a freedom of information act request.

For example, in the small community of Bancroft, located about 250 kilometers from Toronto the pass rate between 2010 and 2014 averaged 92 percent. In Belleville, about 90 minutes from Toronto, the pass rate averaged 86 percent.

This compares to pass rates of 47 percent to 67 percent at three GTA truck-testing centers.

According to the head of one privately run truck driver training school these numbers confirm a long-held belief when it comes to truckers taking and passing their tests. Others cite another reason for the lower pass rates in the GTA: “licensing mills.”

In response to the story, a second one on Wednesday reported Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca said he will ensure all testing centers in Ontario follow the same standards and would talk with his staff about the newspaper’s findings.

Read more about this from the Toronto Star.