TESTING TIMES
SCUNTHORPE TAXI DRIVERS GO BACK TO SCHOOL
Half-a-dozen rookie taxi drivers are expect- ed to make history when they sit in a classroom - under the strict instruction: no Sat Navs allowed. The candidates will be the first-ever to sit the local Knowledge test set by North Lin- colnshire Council. Local licensing manag- er Nick Bramhill told the Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph: “The knowledge test will be conducted in small groups under exam conditions but if necessary, provision can be made for appli- cants to sit it alone.” Mr Bramhill said tests would be conducted on a fortnightly basis, but further dates
would be allocated if there was demand. The tests have been welcomed by local cabbies, including Kuljinder Juj, chair- man of the 100-strong Scunthorpe Taxi Asso- ciation. He said: “We welcome the idea of a local knowledge test to help secure jobs In the town.”
Earlier this year the council decreed that applicants for new cab licences would have to pass an hour-long exam to prove their knowledge of local routes, the law and their driving skills before they are given badges.
The knowledge test came as a result of demands by North
Lincolnshire drivers to restrict the issuance of licences to stop out-of- town cabbies stealing trade.
Mr Bramhill said the test would comprise three parts, which were local routes, leg- islation and road craft. It is the first test of its kind since taxi licens- ing began in Scunthorpe in 1936. The legislation part will consist of ten questions and all of them have to be answered correctly for a pass mark.
Applicants will also have to answer 20 questions on road craft, including traffic signs. The pass mark for the third part will be 80 per cent.
LINCOLN CABBIES IN FOR TESTING TIMES
Every taxi driver in Lin- coln will have to take an extra driving test, if a council consultation receives positive feed- back.
The City of Lincoln Council has sent letters out to every firm in the city to ask if they would back a move to put drivers through a gru- elling Driving Standards Agency exam. Every one of the city’s 579 taxi drivers would have to take part in the test. Kevin Barron, licens- ing manager at the council, said the authority is constantly looking for ways to improve standards. We have some excel- lent drivers and taxi firms in the city,” he
said. But the council has an obligation to keep the travelling public safe. Currently, we have no way to assess a driver’s com- petence.”
Steve Read, managing director at Discount Cabs based in Mon- son Street, said he wanted to thank the council for consulting taxi firms. “We are always trying to improve standards and we have our own in-house knowledge test,” he said. Taxi driver Pete Hearn (58) works for Dis- count Cabs. He said: “I’ve been driving taxis for 15 years and I think it’s insulting they want us to do this test. I could understand it
for new applicants, but it’s unnecessary for people who’ve been driving for years and have good local knowledge.”
The new test would comprise a practical exam, similar to the current driving test, as well as a Highway Code test and eye examination. The Driv- ing Standards Agency would also test whether drivers could use wheelchair ramps and secure a wheel- chair correctly:
The council’s licens- ing committee is also considering a knowl- edge test for black cab and private hire taxi drivers to ensure driv- ers know basic facts about the area.
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PAGE 82
Up to 40 taxi drivers will take the BTEC qualification in trans- porting passengers by taxi or private hire vehicle. Around 150 more have signed up to take the multiple- choice exam while local colleges are still providing free funding. It follows a controversial bid by Southampton City Council to make the BTEC compulsory for all the city’s 1,100 drivers after complaints against them more than doubled in two years.
Ian Hall, chairman of the Southampton Hackney Association, who will be sitting the exam, said he backed the council’s proposal. “It’s definitely needed for new drivers because it will enhance the trade and for older existing drivers I can’t really see any harm in doing it,” he told the Southern Daily Echo. Following objections councillors deferred a decision on bringing in new licensing condi- tions such as the BTEC, digital cameras in cabs, and extra six monthly MoT tests for cabs. Licensing chiefs said the new requirements
would help tackle “poor overall” stan- dards in the trade. They said they had sent let- ters detailing the proposals to all drivers and proprietors and insisted the changes were “long overdue”. But taxi union chiefs and other trade repre- sentatives claimed there had not been enough consultation. Councillors must now decide a way forward. Drivers will be quizzed on topics such as car- riage of luggage, customer service, transporting passen- gers safely and map reading and route planning.
PHTM AUGUST 2009
Some taxi drivers who had their licences revoked have now had them reinstated, after completing the required BTEC or NVQ qualification and pro- duced certificates for Bournemouth Council. According to the
Southern Daily Echo, the council had agreed the qualifica- tion was necessary and given a final dead- line of March 31 for drivers to comply. In April the board resolved that drivers who had not complied
should have their licences revoked. The council’s licens- ing subcommittee heard that some driv- ers then produced the necessary paperwork, so officers reinstated licences of these driv- ers.
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