A-1 Driving School Review 2020: Rates, Branches, Lessons, Pros & Cons

Updated Aug 06, 2020

A-1 Driving School Review will explain how this school is a very strong contender for the title of the best driving schools in the Philippines

Here on Philkotse.com, we recognize the need of knowing how to drive because it not only is a practical everyday life skill, but we also acknowledge that driving in itself can give you the freedom to go where you want to every time you need to.

So for this article, we will introduce to you another driving school that’s easily accessible to you. Now we’ve already reviewed another driving school before, but there are a lot of excellent choices here in the country as such, this particular driving school might be another alternative option for you.

So let’s get our driving face on with the A1 Driving School!

1. A1 Driving School Philippines: Overview

Founded in March of 1977, A-1 Driving Co, Inc. is one of the oldest driving schools here in the Philippines with more than 80 branches nationwide.

They also have three training centers located here at Metro Manila: one in Las Pinas, one in Quezon City, and another in Mandaluyong where you can learn in a secure, and controlled environment away from regular traffic.

Aside from being a regular driving school, A-1 can also provide fleet drivers training and assessment, defensive driving seminars for interested parties and car maintenance 101.

A-1 Driving instructors are experienced and certified professionals

2. A-1 Driving School Review: Pros & Cons

Pros:

  • Student can choose from a range of more than 150 training vehicles from the latest car models
  • Training vehicles are at proper condition
  • Professional instructors with competent driving and teaching experiences
  • Defensive driving lessons including driving skills courses, traffic rules & regulation, car maintenance
  • Licensing assistance service
  • Lectures are operated on weekends.
  • Applying modern technology in lectures (Starmobile)
  • Informative manual course book
  • A-1 Driving school Philippines accepts the payment via credit cards
  • Good customer service

Aside from driving skills and traffic laws, A-1 will also teach you the basics of maintaining your car.

Cons

  • The trainees are not possible to choose the instructors at the beginning
  • Some training vehicles have a bad smell
  • Conflict schedule during Holiday Season

3. Things to keep in mind for the trainees of A1 Driving School Philippines

#1: Getting the LTO Student permit is required to enroll in the course at A-1 Driving School

#2: Make sure to schedule your slots before heading to the A-1 Driving School branches. According to my personal experience, it is not a good idea to arrange the training time in the Holiday season because it's a chance that you have to reschedule 2-3 times.

#3: It is recommended to attend the Orientation session to obtain all necessary information and benefits you get for your driving course.

#4: If you are not satisfied with your instructors, you can claim to replace another one.

#5: Bring along your A-1 ID and the receipt to prove that you already paid for the course.

A1 driving school optimizes Star mobile app in their course

4. Top reasons to consider A-1 Driving School

4.1. Variety of Driving courses and competent instructors

Like most driving schools in the Philippines, the A-1 driving school has several choices of driving courses you can choose from. Their courses have a larger vehicle choice for you to train on. In addition, A-1 Driving’s trainers are TESDA and LTO accredited instructors and as such is the real deal in terms of preparing you for real-life driving situations.

A-1 even has an Executive course which includes a very convenient and free pick-up and drop-off for their students. Also, if you want to have a quicker learning experience, A-1 also has a Rush Course.

And finally, they have a very safe and excellently simulated Training Center Course where you can safely experience your A1 driving lessons away from the dangers of a regular public road.

A-1's facilities are top notch and are completely safe for the beginner driver

Here is a list of their training courses:

A-1 Training Courses

Description

Premium Course

Drive any of A-1’s latest training Vehicles at schedules time slots

Executive Course

Choice of training vehicle and instructor. Free pick-up and drop-off for their students.

Rush Course

Drive any of A-1’s latest training Vehicles at schedules time slots

Training Center Course

Learn and improve your driving skills under simulated road conditions.

Fleet Driver’s Training and Assessment

For training company fleet drivers or professional drivers. Also includes assessment

Driver’s Education 101

To prepare youth and young adults to become safer drivers

Car Maintenance 101

To arm the new or would-be car owner the skills needed to maintain and troubleshoot a vehicle

4.2. Accessibility: Variety of A-1 Driving School Branches

Another strong point of A-1 is its accessibility. With over 80 branches spread around the Philippines, including over 20 which are equipped with very modern and comfortable lecture rooms, A-1 is definitely easy to get to or to find.

Adding to that value of accessibility, A-1 can even assist its customers in getting their own driver’s license

Apart from widespread all over the country, A-1's branches are neat and very modern

In order to assist you, here is a list of all their branches including A1 Driving School’s contact numbers:

A1 driving school in Manila

Branch  Location  Contact Number
 Lucky Chinatown Mall  Lucky Chinatown Mall, 4th Floor (near Food Court)  (+63932) 724 1862
 Robinsons Place Manila  Robinson's Place Manila, Level 1 (beside Cebu Pacific)  (+632) 521 7616
 SM City Manila  SM City Manila, Upper Ground Floor (in front of Mary Grace)  (+632) 400 8634
 SM City San Lazaro  SM City San Lazaro, Lower Ground Floor (in front of Supermarket and Storyland)  (+632) 565 4599

A1 driving school in Makati

 Branch Location   Contact Number
 Glorietta 5  Glorietta 5, 3rd Floor (near Power Mac)  (+632) 831 4409
 Greenbelt 1  Greenbelt 1, Ground Floor (near Legaspi St. entrance between Mr. Quickie and LBC)  (+632) 817 9930
 J.P. Rizal St., Olympia  569 J.P. Rizal St. corner J.B. Roxas St., Brgy. Olympia (beside PSBank)  (+632) 899 1190

A1 driving school in Davao

 Branch  Location  Contact Number
 Gaisano Mall of Davao  Gaisano Mall, Lower Ground Floor (near Supermarket)  (+6382) 295 7004
 J.P. Laurel, Bajada  Km. 4 Sweet Gift Bldg., J.P. Laurel Ave., Bajada (infront of Davao Light Power Plant)  (+6382) 225 4284
 McArthur Hi-way, Matina  Door 3, 11 Dela Torre Bldg., McArthur Hi-way, Marina Crossing (in front of GSIS)  (+6382) 299 1139
 SM City Davao  SM City Davao, Ground Floor, Level 2 Entrance (near Krispy Kreme Drive-Thru)  (+6382) 282 0087

>>> Worth to note: Driving Schools in Davao: Overview, list of courses, fees & more

A1 driving school in Cebu

 Branch Location   Contact number
 Ayala Center Cebu  Ayala Center Cebu, 4th Floor (near Cinema 1 on stage and in front of Fitness First)  (+6332) 520 1088
 Capitol Site  100 Escario St., Brgy. Capitol Site (near RCBC)  (+6332) 254 2356
 CM City Cebu  SM City Cebu, Lower Ground Floor (in front of Watsons and near Food Court)  (+6332) 231 7522
 South Central Square  South Central Square, Kiosk 4, Lawaan III, Talisay (in front of Robinson's Supermarket)  (+6332) 238 4015

>>> More options: Driving Schools in Cebu: List of popular schools, respective courses & fee

Above is the list of A1 Driving school branches in the big cities. Look for other branches strategically located nationwide with the complete contact details in the following link: https://a-1driving.com/about/branches/

5. A1 Driving School Rates & Courses

While being also accessible and versatile, A-1 driving school price for their courses are also very affordable and will be pliable in terms of training vehicle choice or the number of hours of driving lessons.

To further assist you, here is a list of A-1 Driving School’s rates for all of their courses. Also included is information on which branches these courses are available.

A-1 is one of the view driving schools where a truck is available as a training vehicle.

5.1. A-1 Driving School Rate: Premium Course

Course

Training Vehicle

5Hours

7Hours

10Hours

15Hours

20Hours

30Hours

SEDAN (MT)

Manual Training Vehicle

P3,200

P4,400

P6,200

P9,200

P12,000

P17,700

SEDAN (AT)

Toyota Altis

P6,000

P8,300

P11,800

P17,600

P23,200

P34,500

A-1 Course (MT)

Choice of instructor or sedan

P4,000

P5,500

P7,800

P11,600

P15,200

P22,500

A-1 Course (AT)

Choice of instructor or sedan

P6,600

P9,200

P13,000

P19,400

P25,600

P38,100

MPV/ Pickup (MT)

Toyota Innova / Toyota Hilux

P5,400

P7,500

P10,600

P15,800

P20,800

P30,900

MPV (AT)*

Toyota Innova

P7,200

P10,000

P14,200

P21,200

P28,000

P41,700

LIGHT TRUCK*

Isuzu NHR

P5,400

P7,500

P10,600

P15,800

P20,800

P30,900

MIDSIZE SUV (AT)*

Honda CR-V / Toyota Fortuner

P8,000

P11,100

P15,800

P23,600

P31,200

P46,500

VAN (AT)*

Hyundai Starex

P8,000

P11,100

P15,800

P23,600

P31,200

P46,500

*Only in NCR, Calabarzon, and Bulacan

5.2. A-1 Driving School Rate: Executive Course

SEDAN (MT)

Toyota Vios or Altis

P6,400

P8,900

P12,600

P18,800

P24,800

SEDAN (AT)

Toyota Altis

P9,000

P12,500

P17,800

P26,600

P35,200

A-1 COURSE (MT)

Choice of Instructor or Sedan

Manual Training Vehicle

P7,200

P10,000

P14,200

P21,200

P28,000

A-1 COURSE (AT)

Choice of Instructor or Sedan

Automatic Training Vehicle

P9,600

P13,400

P19,000

P28,400

P37,600

MPV / PICKUP (MT)*

Toyota Innova / Toyota Hilux

P8,400

P11,700

P16,600

P24,800

P32,800

MPV (AT)*

Toyota Innova

P10,200

P14,200

P20,200

P30,200

P40,000

LIGHT TRUCK (MT)*

Isuzu NHR

P8,400

P11,700

P16,600

P24,800

P32,800

*Only in NCR, Calabarzon, and Bulacan

5.3. A-1 Driving School Rate: Rush Course

SEDAN (MT)

Toyota Altis or Vios

P4,200

P5,800

P8,200

P12,200

P16,000

P23,700

SEDAN (AT)

Toyota Altis

P7,000

P9,700

P13,800

P20,600

P27,200

P40,500

A-1 COURSE (MT)

Choice of Instructor or Sedan

Manual Training Vehicle

P5,000

P6,900

P9,800

P14,600

P19,200

P28,500

A-1 COURSE (AT)

Choice of Instructor or Sedan

Automatic Training Vehicle

P7,600

P10,600

P15,000

P22,400

P29,600

P44,100

MPV / PICKUP (MT)*

Toyota Innova / Toyota Hilux

P6,600

P9,200

P13,000

P19,400

P25,600

P38,100

MPV (AT)*

Toyota Innova

P8,200

P11,400

P16,200

P24,200

P32,000

P47,700

LIGHT TRUCK (MT)*

Isuzu NHR

P6,600

P9,200

P13,000

P19,400

P25,600

P38,100

*Only in NCR, Calabarzon, and Bulacan

All in all, A-1 driving school looks like it’s a very large and well established judging from all those branches spread nationwide and their variety of very affordable driving courses.

So if you’re still undecided on a good driving school, you might want to consider A-1 Driving School, one of the oldest and most reliable driving schools here in the Philippines.

Cesar G.B. Miguel

Author

Cesar Guiderone B. Miguel was born and raised in Iligan City, Lanao Del Norte. He graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in English degree from Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology. He previously worked as a freelance writer for various websites, as a member of the Iligan City Disaster Risk Reduction Management's training staff, and as a medical sales representative.

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