Taxi Driver Online

Two recent pieces in the P&J about the knowledge test - what makes me think these two articles would never have sullied the P&J apart from you-know-what?

The first is more than a week old, and the second one just appeared this weekend.

Anyway, if the returning driver was so confident in his ability to pass the test, why not just sit it?

Wouldn't that be easier than waiting to appear before councillors at a licensing committee meeting, or whatever?


Returning Aberdeen cabbie avoids Street Knowledge Test resit after plea to council

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

Scott Allan was given the exemption by councillors after saying he was "really confident" in his abilities.

https://wpcluster.dctdigital.com/wp-con ... 40x564.jpg

A returning cabbie has been allowed to skip Aberdeen’s contentious Street Knowledge Test after telling councillors he passed it in 2016

Scott Allan spent three years in the trade before leaving during the pandemic, but now wishes to come back to bolster the city’s fleet.

He went before the council’s licensing committee on Wednesday to ask to be exempt from resitting the Street Knowledge Test, which would be a normal requirement to secure permission if you’ve previously handed in your badge.

If he failed it, he would have been barred from re-entering the profession.

Mr Allan told councillors he was “really confident” in his abilities as a cabbie.

Why would driver have to resit Aberdeen Street Knowledge Test?

Mr Allan last passed the Street Knowledge Test nine years ago.

Budding cabbies have to acquire a taxi badge from the local authority to work, which involves completing a medical and this roads quiz.

This would have meant that the returning driver would have to redo Aberdeen’s Street Knowledge Test to get behind the wheel again.

However, as he had only been out of the trade for a short time, Mr Allan felt that he would be perfectly capable of ferrying passengers around the city.

This exam has proved contentious over the years, with opponents claiming it’s an outdated barrier to entering the trade – arguing it is contributing to Aberdeen’s night-time shortages.

Uber, the ride hailing firm new to the industry, have been outspoken critics of the test.

Previously this year, one would-be driver was so desperate to skip the test he offered bribes to licensing chiefs.

It was revised in late 2024, reducing the questions from 80 to 44.

What did councillors decide?

When asked by councillor Dell Henrickson if he was sure he would know the ever-expanding suburbs such as Bridge of Don and Cove, Mr Allan said he was “really confident in his knowledge”.

The returning cabbie told the chamber: “You mentioned a couple there, I actually stay close to one of them.

“So I don’t think I’ll have any issues getting straight back into it, knowing places, streets, routes, not a problem.”

He added: “I’m Aberdonian, I’ve been driving here for 35 years. I’m really familiar with everywhere and streets in Aberdeen.”

In the end, councillors agreed that Mr Allan would slide right back into the trade no problem, and allowed him to bypass the Street Knowledge Test.

You can view the full meeting here.

This is just an updated version of previous articles, basically. There are graphics and graphs on the source page which can't be displayed on here. So if anyone feels the need, just click on the link to the page...I don't think it's paywalled


More Aberdeen taxi drivers are passing rejigged knowledge test – but could YOU pass it?

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

Take our own Street Knowledge Test to see if you could become an Aberdeen taxi driver!

Aberdeen’s Street Knowledge Test has been the bane of many budding taxi drivers’ lives for some time now.

The exam grills would-be cabbies on the ins and outs of the Granite City’s road network and landmarks, and has come under scrutiny from certain sides of the industry.

The new kids on the taxi block, Uber, have bemoaned the importance that is put on the test, and have repeatedly said “if Glasgow and Edinburgh don’t need a test, why do we?”

Veteran industry chiefs have argued that if the quiz was binned, it would “erode Aberdeen’s knowledgeable taxi trade”.

But new figures show that after the test was revamped at the tail end of last year, pass rates have actually increased…

And now you can see if you can pass our Street Knowledge Test using real examples that budding cabbies would have to face…

How does Aberdeen Street Knowledge Test work?

The test is designed to make sure Aberdeen cabbies know the streets of the Granite City like the back of their hand.

It was revamped in December last year, following some previous contentious questions asking drivers the location of landmarks which had been closed for years – such as the Neptune Bar.

The quiz is split into three sections – streets, places and routes.

The streets part of the test gives aspiring drivers two streets in the city, and they’re asked which road links the two.

The P&J has been given some examples of the street section, which you can try out for yourself here:

In the actual test, there is no multiple choice, and budding drivers must get at least 15/20 to pass.

The section has the lowest pass rate of the three, with just 48% of drivers passing first time.

What about the other sections?

The other two parts of the exam are where the majority of drivers pass.

The “places” section asks would-be drivers to name the street of landmarks in Aberdeen, such as hotels, schools, sports facilities and a whole host of others.

Just like our streets quiz, there is no multiple choice for actual drivers sitting the test.

See if you could pass the “places” section using these real examples:

Just like the “streets” section, drivers must score a minimum of 15/20 on this area, with the current pass rate sitting at 79%.

The final section of the test is the “routes” part, which asks drivers to name the most direct route between point A and point B.

Hopeful cabbies must score at least 3/4 on this one, with a success rate of 58%.

What does the data show?

Since the test was revamped, the data shows that the pass rate has gone up.

37% of drivers are now successfully completing the exam, compared to almost 20% before.

However, it is important to note that these figures include resits.

From 2021-23, 351 tests were taken by hopeful taxi drivers — but only 65 people passed.

Rainbow City Taxis boss, Russell McLeod told The P&J that he sees these figures as a “great return”, noting that out of 94 applicants, 66 passed the test at one point.

I'm not a fan of drivers being treated differently.

If he was so confident of his abilities, then why not take the test?

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IDFIMH

In our neck of the woods grandfather rights are in operation,out of the trade for less than 3 years knowledge test does not have to be resat.