Taxi Driver Online

Not the first article of this type about the Aberdeen knowledge test.

But his arguments are almost making the case against himself

Not clear where precisely he is at the moment, but it says right at the end that he's a 'long-distance' applicant. Which suggest he's not just a few miles out of the city, but who knows?


Struggling taxi driver hopeful told living outside Aberdeen is no excuse to skip Street Knowledge Test

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/ne ... dge-test-2

Tolulope Oluwasanya pleaded with licensing chiefs to be allowed to skip the "extremely difficult" test.

A would-be taxi driver has been told he’s not allowed to skip Aberdeen’s tricky Street Knowledge Test after arguing that living outside the city makes it difficult to learn its roads.

Tolulope Oluwasanya applied to Aberdeen City Council seeking an exemption from the exam, which all taxi and private hire drivers need to pass.

Councillors decided to maintain the demanding standard for Aberdeen cabbies earlier in the year – despite being lobbied by Uber and business chiefs to change the rules on the test of roads, routes and landmarks around Aberdeen.

Mr Oluwasanya’s plea recently went before the council’s licensing committee.

The out-of-towner did not attend in person or by video call, instead relying on an email to convince councillors that he should be allowed to skip the test.

Aberdeen taxi hopeful ‘forgets what he’s previously learned’ when swotting for Street Knowledge Test

The hopeful taxi driver said he understood the test was an “important part of the licensing process” and allows drivers to have “knowledge to provide a safe and reliable service”.

But Mr Oluwasanya admitted he was finding it “extremely difficult to prepare for”.

He added: “I am struggling to retain and recall the large amount of information required, including street names, routes and locations.

“I have been making a genuine effort to study, but I am finding that I forget information that I have previously learned, which makes the current test format particularly challenging for me.”

The aspirant taxi driver doesn’t live in Aberdeen, and due to current circumstances, he needs to travel and doesn’t know how long he will be in the area.

“This makes it difficult for me to build the level of detailed local geographical knowledge that would normally come from living and travelling around Aberdeen on a regular basis,” he admitted.

Despite this, Mr Oluwasanya stressed he genuinely wanted to work as a professional driver and was willing to prove he has what it takes to hit the city streets.

Would-be taxi driver’s plea to skip Aberdeen’s Street Knowledge Test

And he asked if he could take other steps to show he was “capable of safely carrying passengers”.

He suggested carrying out “a practical assessment, an assessment using a sat-nav, or any alternative method” council chiefs believed would be appropriate.

Mr Oluwasanya added: “I am fully committed to passenger safety and to providing a professional and reliable service.

“I am simply asking the council to consider whether there is a reasonable alternative that would allow me to demonstrate my suitability as a licensed driver without relying solely on my ability to memorise a large amount of geographical information for a written knowledge test.”

However, the licensing committee wasn’t convinced by his long-distance appeal, and unanimously agreed to refuse the request in his absence.

So he didn't bother attending the meeting, doesn't live in Aberdeen and doesn't seem to go there and certainly not often enough to garner a knowledge of the city. And sounds like he'll only be around the area for the short-term anyway




But, I mean, this is classic gig economy stuff - a temporary or part-time job until he finds something better

Except that if he'd said precisely the same thing 20 years ago it wouldn't be called the *gig economy*.

But which is, of course, why the P&J and 'business leaders' wanted Uber to come to the party to demolish the knowledge test and attract drivers like this through the revolving door and licensing conveyor belt, as per Wolves.

I'm not sure if he is taking the pi** or just a little bit thick.

What does living elsewhere have to do with skipping the knowledge?

Why does someone think that requirements are for others to meet, not for them?

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