Do you think I'm being cynical when I say, "The PH firms only want more drivers so they can have a greater income from weekly settles and don't have the volume of work to sustain the extra drivers."

Helen Cookson of private hire firm Andrew Wallbank Ltd in Leyland, said hard-pressed businesses had been worried about fees hitting £450. She said: “Added to the cost of Criminal Records Bureau checks and (taxi) badges, it would have been £600 just to employ someone.”

Plans to hike up the cost of the college course from £175 to £450 have been scrapped with the announcement of a government subsidy this week.

However, councillors will consider next week whether to switch to a cheaper Driving Standards Agency course which is more practical than the BTEC, now £195.

PH firms are the loudest critics of these courses because it slows the uptake of drivers to the firms thus slows down their income



Since when have PH companies employed anybody



I'm not sure whether this means the government are going to subsidise part or all of these courses and if they are how much are they going to give the companies that provide the training



Does anybody know the difference between the 2 courses?

The price? is there a prize for right answer???