There is nothing sinister going on with this blog post. The term 'Piggy Backing' has been around since when I started to learn to drive in fact it was fairly common. Piggy Backing is used less today, as the way we teach people to drive has changed and also what is expected from the service and expectations of our clients has changed. So what is 'Piggy Backing'?
Piggy Backing is the term used for carrying a passenger in the vehicle. Student A will start their lesson. Towards the end of student A's lesson they will travel to student B's home. Student A will sit in the back of the vehicle while student B drive them home and the process continues. Why would instructors do Piggy Backing?
There are two main reasons. Which are related to each other. Using the example above.
Student B will drive student A home, which will mean the driving instructor does not need to travel between sessions, which in some cases maybe up to 1 hour between clients.
If the students are doing the driving between lessons this will allow the instructor more time to conduct more lessons, thus increasing his profits and cutting costs.
Are there any benefits to Piggy Backing?
Obviously from an instructors point of view they can maximise their time and increase their cost savings on fuel and general wear and tear on the vehicle.
If the students are actively involved in the sessions between Students A & B then it can be useful to discuss on the lesson. There are also benefits to exposing people to having passengers.
Sadly in general the student will sit in the back and be driven home without any further involvement in the lesson.
What are the negatives?
If we are putting the students at the foremost consideration when conducting driving lessons this is where the problems arise in my opinion.
Instructors don't necessarily need to cut costs, they need to manage them. They also need to charge a rate that represents the lesson they want to provide and that should be 100% concentration for that student at that time.
You cannot structure a lesson for a student if part of the route is fixed each week.
One student will lose time travelling home, which they could be putting to better use.
There is also the potential risk in sharing customer details which maybe sensitive to some, and misused.
I'm not completely against Piggy Backing when both students consent to the process and are actively involved in the lesson. In fact it can be a very useful way of learning.
When booking lessons, make sure you ask for what you want. Do you expect to have a lesson that is One2One of sharing the travelling time?