‘EARN AS YOU LEARN’ SCHEME
Glenn continued: “Personally, I think the scheme should continue as the taxi trade is an excellent trade to get into if you’re willing to put in the hours. It’s also affordable to anyone willing to put in the effort.
“For example, I was working a full-time job, learning and driving, and still passed first time due to help from the trainer, Andre, who is very professional and his knowledge from being a driver himself is impeccable. As well as having a great trainer, I was able to drive in a professional manner whilst also learning. There is no better way to learn than hands on.
“Hi, my name is Taylor and I’m a fully licensed hackney carriage driver. At 24, I’m the youngest person to get a hackney badge in our district. I passed on 8 August, having got started as a private hire driver just four months before that.
“Thanks to the ‘Earn as you Learn’ scheme, I was able to sharpen my knowledge of my district. This most definitely helped me in passing my hackney carriage test.
“I love being a taxi driver. Not only do I have the independence of being self-employed, but with the no upfront costs of the ‘Earn as you Learn’ scheme I’m still able to save for a mortgage which at my age could have been unobtainable.
“I’m proud of what I have accomplished not only in learning a trade, but I have become more responsible; my time management has improved and I’ve become independent for the first time.
“I would really love to be able to inspire any young person interested, especially women, in becoming
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taxi drivers as it really is an amazing experience. I meet new and interesting people every single day. I love it and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
REVIEWING THE SCHEME
As part of the review process, the Licensing Team asked the two main operators, Andrews Taxis and Bestax, for details of the bookings completed by the ‘Earn as you Learn’ drivers between July 2022 and December 2022.
Operator No. of EAYL drivers
No. of bookings in Rochford area
No. of bookings by EAYL drivers in Rochford
Percentage Andrews 21 25,571 7,466 29% Bestax 19 69,714 18,787 27%
A representative from Andrews Taxis said: “From the circuit’s perspective this has been a major success. Without this support our customers would be stranded on the streets at night, as post pandemic we have lost driver numbers and ultimately coverage.
“It is our strong belief, evidenced from the number of complaints to us and the hackney carriage office that these drivers (who are controlled via our Autocab dispatch system) have been adequately supported to carry out the role as a licensed driver.
“Lastly thank you to Rochford Council for all your support; it is truly refreshing and a pleasure working with you. We believe you have a balanced view in the interest of all parties: the public, the drivers and the circuit owners. I strongly recommend that this scheme remains in place.”
Mark Adkins, from Bestax, said: “After covid we were all struggling. So initially the Earn as you Learn scheme was a big gamble and investment for our firm as we committed to fund the upfront training costs for the drivers which are themn recouped at a later date.
FEBRUARY 2024 PHTM
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