Time to repost this from way back when (
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/49256730-post717.html).
I've mentioned this before elsewhere, but after reading a lot of the newer forum posts, I just feel the need to say this again...
I know a lot of you who are looking for PDIs are also looking for convenience. "Anyone knows a good PDI who can fetch me at my house???" I get why you ask this question, 'cause I asked this question too, way back when. I couldn't find a PDI who would fetch from under my block, so I settled with the 2nd most convenient place, at a close-by MRT station.
And the bugger who taught me turned out to be a jack-ass who can't teach $hit and really cannot be bothered to do much. I quitted him after 4 lessons (and every time I see a student with him at that MRT station, I feel like getting out of my car and telling the student to go find a different PDI!).
So I gave a chance at other instructors... Some of which are okay, some are so-so, and some can't teach properly (all wayyyyyy better than the 1st guy though!). Then I chanced upon a good one, and boy, was I relieved! Who would've thought that finding an instructor who does his job would be so hard?! And he did his job well, too!
Doesn't matter that I had to travel about half an hour out of my way to learn from him. It all paid off.
tl;dr : Look for good instructors, period. Not convenient ones.
Also, to add on to what whaleshark87 said, send-fetch wastes your money and time. Let's say you pay for 45 minutes of lesson. And let's say that the instructor is nice enough to start the lesson time when you board the car. The travel from your place to the test areas eats time where you could have learned the test routes and what to expect during your driving test. I mean, sure, you could argue that travelling there from your house will require you to drive, thus, you will still be learning.
But chances are, your travel will only consist of left/right turns and mostly straight roads. You will encounter enough of all these during your travel to the above-mentioned test areas, the private circuits and let's be honest, the 3 things I mentioned is not that hard, so why waste more time on them than necessary?
Furthermore, think of how far the private circuits or test areas are from your house. Let's say the travel time is 15 minutes. That's how much earlier the lessons will end, just so you can get home without boarding a bus/MRT. Even earlier, I would say, since the instructor will usually take up some time during the lesson to:
1) Update the driving card
2) Review the lesson (if your instructor is good enough)
3) Schedule the next lesson
4) Pay for the lesson
So you just paid 45 minutes of lesson to only get maybe 20 minutes' worth.
Just get your lazy ass off earlier and take the public transport to the instructor's pick-up point.