toots wrote:
Whilst I appreciate the concerns regarding the NVQ in passenger transport I believe it is a step in the right direction. I also believe that having a considerable knowledge of the subject of taxi driving and the laws relating to taxi driving be it Hackney Carriage or Private Hire does not a good taxi driver make. Although having this knowledge would certainly be of benefit to all taxi drivers and should be part of a training scheme that we don't currently have. The NVQ is not a training course for taxi drivers. The very nature of the NVQ IMO would make it pointless to train somebody who is already a taxi driver and may have been a taxi driver for some considerable time. The VRQ or sometimes called the BTec gives a basic understanding of taxi driving as a vocation. It should cover the differences between PH and HC and also parts of DDA and LA regulations for the area the drivers are from. It explains how to do risk assessments, how to deal with conflict, how to lift things correctly to minimise injury, how read A to Z and maps etc, where to go for further advice and guidance, importance of good customer service etc etc. I can understand that this information is probably a little too late for experienced drivers but I would think that by requiring new drivers to do these courses and not requiring already badged drivers to do the same course may lead to other problems that LA's don't want to have to deal with. How many years experience could be counted as sufficient before you don't have to do any of the courses. If you say well it should just be for new drivers are we to consider drivers who perhaps have only been in the trade for 6 months, 12 months, 18 months or the experienced driver who let his badge lapse for one reason or another and then has to re-apply, my question is where do we draw the line. In a perfect world things would be different but it isn't and they ain't. Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to and worse still we have give our time without being paid for it to achieve something that we never asked for in the 1st place, Oh well lifes a bit*h
Do you do paragraphs?
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