Taxi Driver Online

Slightly unusual press release on the Knowsley Council website here

They sound a tad annoyed. As well they might be

Of course, worth recalling that Knowsley possibly the cross-border capital of the UK after you-know-where. And nearby Sefton.

Although I don't think Knowsley Council were ever quite so keen on promoting that angle as compared to you-know-where.

In fact, didn't the council launch an unsuccessful court case to try to stop cross-border usage?


Taxi Licensing qualifications – the facts

https://www.knowsleynews.co.uk/taxi-lic ... the-facts/

Knowsley Council is aware of a company – The Taxi Academy – that is offering the vocationally relevant qualification for private hire and hackney carriage licensed drivers and is using Knowsley Council’s logo without the Council’s permission as well as sharing potentially misleading and inaccurate information in their promotion of the qualification and service they provide to applicants.

Knowsley Council does not endorse the services of The Taxi Academy.

The company is also making false statements that applications using The Taxi Academy’s services will be given priority when submitting an application to Knowsley Council. This is untrue. Knowsley’s driver licence application process ensures that all applications are assessed through a transparent, consistent and unbiased process to ensure fairness and integrity.

In addition, the company’s claims may imply that anyone using their service is guaranteed to be issued with their Knowsley Licence. Again, this is completely inaccurate. As with any licensing application, thorough mandatory checks are undertaken by the Council and licenses are all reviewed and approved in line with national standards which require robust checks prior to any decision on a licence application being made

All applicants are also required to pass the Knowsley Essential Skills Assessment (ESA), which has a current pass rate of 70%, in addition to holding a valid VRQ Certificate. The ESA is organised by Knowsley Council directly.

It is important that licensed and hackney drivers are aware of these facts before engaging with The Taxi Academy.

To be clear:

•The council does not endorse the services of The Taxi Academy,

• The council does not work in partnership with them,

• The council does not have any special arrangement that applications will be prioritised; or

• that drivers applying using The Taxi Academy will be guaranteed a license.

Any claims which suggest otherwise are misleading and inaccurate.

If applicants have any questions about the process for applying for a licence with Knowsley Council, we would advise that they refer to the Licensing pages of the Knowsley Council website in the first instance where information and contact information is available. The use of unaffiliated organisations is at their own risk.

This looks like the page here

https://www.taxiacademy.co.uk/knowsley


Check out the graphic here - 'Earning £1,000s every month'.

And 'Wolverhampton - CITY OF OPPORTUNITY'

Except they won't actually be working there

https://www.taxiacademy.co.uk/assets/wo ... rSUxv.webp

'UK LICENSING PARTNER' it says across the top of their website.

Which sounds like a red flag for a start.

And interesting that they're punting Wolverhampton, Knowsley and TfL badges (and Sheffield 'coming soon'), but no Sefton.

But all very illustrative of 'licence factory' stuff

Yes, and the numpties took on drivers rather than vehicles.

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IDFIMH