From April onwards, new taxi license applications in Hull will only be approved if drivers-to-be pass a knowledge test.
The decision came after worries over the number of present cabbies who were unsure of the city’s road network.
Embarrassing Moments
A local newspaper told of how one cab driver allegedly picked up a fare in Ferensway and didn’t know where one of the city’s main roads, Beverley Road, was.
After a meeting with councillors, the go-ahead was given and the test will now be a compulsory part of all new hackney and private hire applications for taxi licenses.
The test will grill the cabbies on the city’s roads and surrounding residential areas as well as a section based around Hull City Council’s regulations for private hire and hackney carriage vehicles.
In 2007, the test was replaced with a basic numeracy and literacy exam – this will now be included along with the knowledge test, customer care and equality skills to provide drivers with the nationally recognised BTEC qualification. The test will be sat at the end of a six-week course which will cover all areas and ensure that the drivers are up to a very high standard.
Hull City Council’s licensing manager, Keith Fenner, said: “We are in the middle of consultations with the trade but would expect to be in a position to go ahead with it when we have our annual review of licensing policies and conditions in April.”
Council Funding
Funding has been secured by Hull City Council which will mean that the course fee (£176) will be waived for any applications made within the next 12 months.
Councillor Fenner said it was not yet clear whether funding support would continue in 2014 and drivers who already hold a licence in Hull will not be required to sit the test.