Rookie cabbies take up to seven goes to acquire KnowledgeROOKIE taxi drivers in Scunthorpe are taking up to seven attempts to answer some simple questions correctly in their bid to gain The Knowledge, it has been revealed.
Since 2009, applicants for new cab licences have had to pass an hour-long test to prove their knowledge of local routes, the law and driving skills before they are given badges.
Questions set by North Lincolnshire include: "What are taxi ranks for?" and "Where is Scunthorpe police station?"
Exam-sitters also have to select the best route for fares on a variety of sample journeys, including from Doncaster Road to Birkdale Road and Derby Road.
A council spokeswoman said: "The Knowledge test for hackney carriage drivers is split into three parts – local routes (part one), legislation (part two) and road craft (part three).
"Seventy people have completed the test since it was introduced in June 2002.
"Applicants have to pay an initial fee of £27.50 and can have up to three retests. They can pay the same again if they didn't manage to pass in order to take the test again."
The exam-setters have revealed 55 candidates passed the road craft section at the first attempt.
But when it came to the knowledge of local routes, only 14 passed the first time – and one sitter had five more attempts before passing.
Only 12 passed the law section first time – and it took one candidate seven attempts.
The Knowledge came as a result of demands by North Lincolnshire taxi operators to restrict the issue of licences with a view to stopping out-of-town cabbies stealing trade.
Kuljinder Juj, the chairman of the Scunthorpe and District Taxi Association, said: "The number of first and second failures is good news and proves the tests are effective. The Knowledge is a deterrent to cowboy operators. It is also improving quality of service.
"The number of unlicensed operators in the town has gone down since The Knowledge was introduced".
Read more:
http://www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk/Cab-K ... z2WGtEukpt
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