Taxi Driver Online

Headline maybe a bit misleading here because it looks like the PH knowledge will go, but it's not entirely clear precisely what's what, and again it's a bit like the Cumbria article in terms of content

Certainly very articulate contributions from the drivers to the consultation, though


Councillors reject proposals to change taxi drivers’ knowledge test

https://stalbanstimes.co.uk/district-co ... edge-test/

There will be no slackening of standards required to become a hackney taxi driver in the St Albans district, councillors have confirmed.

A revised Taxi Licensing Policy proposed changing the knowledge test process by reducing it to a multiple choice routes-only test for taxi drivers and removing it completely for private hire vehicles.

SADC environmental health manager (licensing) Daniel Pattenden told the licensing and regulatory committee: “Taxi drivers need a good working knowledge of the area for which they are licensed because taxis can be hired immediately, directly with the driver, at ranks or on the street and so drivers are not able to prepare a route.

“Licensing authorities should therefore require prospective taxi drivers to pass a test of local topographical knowledge as a prerequisite to the first grant of a licence. The department’s view is that the stringency of the test should reflect the complexity or otherwise of the local geography, in accordance with the principle of ensuring that barriers to entry are not unnecessarily high…

“The changes to the knowledge test will greatly reduce the cost to new applicants, this achieved by reducing the burden on staffing time to adjudicate and mark the test. We don’t believe this will undermine public safety, we will still test a general area knowledge of hackney carriage.”

The proposed multiple choice test asked drivers questions such as what would be the shortest route between Batchwood Golf Club and Carlisle Avenue, from St Albans Station to Althorp Road, or from Harpenden pub The George to Charisbrooke Road in the town.

A six-week consultation on the proposals took place between May 13 and June 24, prompting a backlash from existing taxi drivers overwhelmingly opposed to any changes to the test.

One driver said St Albans is a prestigious city with a high standard of taxi drivers: “Making the knowledge test easier for private hire and hackney carriage drivers is not a good idea as it will allow an unprofessional level of service within St Albans.

“Keeping the knowledge test as it is will make us unique against other transport services such as Uber or Bolt as our customers appreciate our familiarity with the city.”

Another said: “As a hackney carriage driver knowing all the street names gives me the confidence to drive safely and focus on the road without having to look at a satnav or keep having to ask the customer for directions. With knowledge, customers feel trust, safe and at ease knowing I am fully focused on the road.

“In addition, sometimes customers may change destination during the journey and I am able to adapt to the new route with ease without having to pull over to work out a new route. Furthermore, customer preferences change from one customer to the next. Some prefer the shortest route whilst others prefer the quickest which you can only do by having all of the local knowledge.”

One driver said: “The St Albans and Harpenden district is a relatively small area, in which there are already a sufficient amount of drivers, who possess comprehensive local knowledge, allowing them to provide efficient and high quality service to the community. Reducing the standards of the hackney knowledge test would cause delays and potential safety concerns, overall negatively affecting the high quality services provided to customers. As well as this, the already prevalent congestion issues will skyrocket as more and more taxis will be waiting around in search of customers.”

And another added: “The comprehensive knowledge test ensures that our taxi drivers are well-acquainted with the area and can provide a high-quality service to our passengers. This standard has contributed to the reputation and reliability of taxi services in St Albans. Reducing the rigor of this test could compromise service quality and safety, potentially affecting customer satisfaction and trust in our services.

“Our customers rely on us knowing the roads very well which saves them money and time. Without the knowledge test, new drivers will have to follow a satnav which will increase journey times and increase meter prices for our customers.”

Councillors on the committee questioned how effective the new knowledge test would be in terms of ensuring drivers were able to take customers to their destination, and highlighted how the sample questions had not been ready for inclusion in the consultation.

They mooted a customer consultation in order to find out whether they would be in favour of changes to the test, and asking existing licensed drivers to try it out to see whether it was too easy.

Daniel told councillors: “We need to look at how we modernise and move with the times without undermining our robust and safe taxis which we have in our area.”

He promised to come back with further analysis, and councillors voted unanimously to approve the policy with the exception of the section relating to introducing a new knowledge test for hackney carriage drivers.

Cllr Jez Levy (Bernards Heath) said after the meeting: “The great turnout at the meeting from the drivers demonstrated the strength of opinion on the proposed changes to the knowledge test, and their representative spoke eloquently on the subject.

“Whilst supporting the other aspects of the paper, we councillors voted overwhelmingly to exclude this part of the proposals demonstrating that ‘our drivers’ know best and we should and do listen and act accordingly when it most matters.”