Taxi Driver Online

As usual this is the bosses' angle - the lack of drivers means less money for him. Oh for fewer drivers in my gaff - that would mean more money for me. I might even get on the rank occasionally without a huge hoohah

I'd guess that in fact the knowledge test isn't particularly onerous, at least by the figures the council provide.

And not sure what the medical stuff is all about; presumably this council has Group 2 requirements, while the others don't, but all it says specifically is that this council has higher standards than the neighbouring authorities


Taxi boss says East Ayrshire Council red tape is driving people away from trade

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/ayrshire/ ... e-35407598

Thistle Cabs' Ross Gilmour says the requirements around 'street knowledge' and health checks are too onerous.

A local taxi operator has accused East Ayrshire Council of driving would‑be cabbies away with “astonishing” red tape, threatening school runs, night‑time safety and the survival of wheelchair‑accessible services.

In a strongly worded submission to the council’s licensing panel, Thistle Cabs boss Ross Gilmour says applications for new taxi badges have plummeted since officials reinstated a compulsory street‑knowledge test and introduced stricter medical checks.

He said that impact of the knowledge test was ‘astronomical’ and had led to drivers giving up on the application before they even attempt to get their licenses.

He said that the decision to limit the number of times someone could take the knowledge test ‘beggars believe’ given the cost of taking each test – currently sitting at £30 for three attempts.

Mr Gilmour argued that modern technology meant that the need to memorise a huge range of routes was now obsolete.

He said: “In the modern era where taxi drivers are assisted by satellite navigation and soon to be ‘what3words’ like the Police use, I cannot see any justification whatsoever as to why this is required in an area that cannot be compared to cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The Thistle Cabs boss claimed that the pass rate for those who did the test ‘must be particularly low’.

This is refuted in the report, however, with officials pointing out that, since it was reintroduced at the start of 2024, there had been 83 applications.

Of these, 64 were successful, with another 13 applications ongoing and six being withdrawn.

Mr Gilmour is equally critical of the mandatory medical introduced on Scottish Government guidance, particularly when neighbouring authorities had not taken the same route.

Applicants failing the assessment, he says, can still drive taxis in neighbouring councils that do not enforce the same test, creating a “postcode lottery” for livelihoods.

Even successful candidates, Mr Gilmour claims, face ‘a minimum 28‑day wait” for licences to be issued — a delay he calls “astounding’ given modern technology.

Trade frustration has been compounded by the temporary relocation of Kilmarnock’s main taxi rank away from the bus station during town‑centre works.

Mr Gilmour also claimed that customers had ‘their work cut out finding the rank’ in Kilmarnock during town centre works.

He said this had led to a cut in a vital revenue stream for drivers already struggling with spiralling costs.

The financial burden of ensuring wheelchair-accessible vehicles was becoming impossible for many.

With takings down, operators cannot afford the £60,000 price tag of new wheelchair‑accessible vehicles that the council ‘demands’ they provide, he warned.

He concluded: “A lack of drivers means lack of income, means a lack of investment, which leads to lack of quality.”

The submission urges councillors to scrap the route test, drop the medical requirement or find a compromise by bringing rules into line with South and North Ayrshire, and restore the rank to its original location ‘as soon as it is safe to do so’.

"We are the driving force of the community,” Mr Gilmour writes. “We clear up the streets, help police investigations and transport children with additional needs. This is a trade worth fighting for — not fighting against.”

The knowledge test was put in place in the years before the pandemic, requiring all new applicants demonstrate their knowledge of the area.

This required drivers to correctly answer three-quarters of a multiple choice questionnaire.

The test was dropped in 2020 as part of a swathe of measures put in place during the height of the pandemic, before being reintroduced at the start of 2024.

The DVLA had updated guidance on taxi and private hire drivers in 2016, recommending medical assessments.

The licensing panel agreed to adopt the policy and it was put in place in April 2019.

The Licensing Panel will consider whether to undertake a review of the policy around knowledge tests and medical assessments when it meets on Thursday, June 19.

A review would include a survey of all taxi and private hire operators.