Knowledge test for Leicester cabbies set to be expandedIt could be about to get a whole lot harder to become a cabbie in Leicester.
Council bosses are looking to review the Knowledge tests drivers need to pass to earn their plates.
The test has been in place for more than 20 years and is there to ensure prospective hackney cab and private hire drivers know their way around the city.
However the 50 question written test could be updated to include a host of new locations which drivers ought to know.
While applicants for a licence were previously required know where 111 city streets, 48 places (such as The Clock Tower and Welford Road rugby ground) were, and some 30 neighbourhoods the list is to be added too.
A further 135 streets and some 40 more places will become required knowledge as well as surrounding villages.
Leicester City Council’s head of regulatory services Mike Broster said: “We have knowledge test so when you get into a cab the driver knows where to take you and the best way to get you there.
“It’s important for strangers to the city.
“We haven’t reviewed it for seven or nine years so we are now looking at what level of detail we should require.
“Obviously we can’t expect taxi drivers to know every street but we are looking at whether we need to extend that knowledge of different destinations.”
The council is to consult with the trade on the move.
The current hour long test is done in an old fashioned exam style with an invigilator making sure would-be drivers do not confer or refer to an A to Z.
It consists of multiple choice questions where applicants have to name places marked on maps.
The council is looking to make it an internet-based test.
To pass the drivers need to score 66 per cent and 58 per cent of people taking the test pass it.
Mr Broster said: “Last year we had 246 applications and we granted 166 new licences.
“We don’t want to make it so hard that nobody can pass and we don’t have drivers but it is reasonable to require drivers have a decent knowledge of the city they are working in
“We get some complaints about drivers who do not know where they need to go but not many.
“We are not just adding places. We also take places off. This week for example we have removed the New Walk Centre for obvious reasons.”
“People ask why we even need at test when there are sat navs but not everybody uses them and they do not always work or take the most direct route.”
Arshad Khan, who has been driving a Hackney cab based at Leicester railway station for more than 20 years, welcomed the new test.
He said: “It is good idea. It is about time things were updated.
“This test just shows how hard it is to be a taxi driver in this city. You can’t just turn up and get in a cab and be a taxi driver.”
Srinivas Jella, who has been driving a Hackney cab at the station for seven years, agreed.
He said: “It has to be good for the passenger to know that drivers have to have this knowledge.
“This test will reassure customers that when they use a registered taxi driver in this city they will be in good hands.”
Read more:
http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Knowl ... z3TDD0PZzS
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