Taxi Driver Online

It has came to my attention that since 1990 Aberdeen City Council has been illegally insisting on knowledge tests before licensing private hire drivers

This is not provided for under existing legislation as under the Civic Government Act 1982 only taxi drivers can be subject to this condition


CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982 CHAPTER 45

PART II LICENSING AND REGULATION--PARTICULAR ACTIVITIES

LICENSING AND REGULATION OF TAXIS AND PRIVATE HIRE CARS

s 13 Taxi and private hire car driving licences.

(5) A licensing authority may require an applicant for a taxi driver's
licence to take a test of his knowledge of the area to which the licence is
to relate, of the layout of roads in that area and such other matters
relating to the operation of a taxi as the authority consider desirable, and
the authority may refuse to grant a licence to a person who does not satisfy them that he has adequate knowledge of any of these matters



This was confirmed by a Renfrewshire Council report on introducing knowledge tests in that area


Renfrewshire Council

To: Regulatory Functions Board

On: 17 March 2004

Report by
Director of Corporate Services

Taxi Licensing - Knowledge Test

1. Summary

1.1 Reference is made to Report to this Board dated 2 October 2003 when the
Board approved, in principle, the introduction of a “knowledge test” for new
applicants for taxi drivers’ licences. The purpose of this Report is to provide
members with details of the proposed test.

3. Report

3.1 Introduction of the test has been the subject of consultation with the taxi trade and
will only apply to taxi drivers. The Council cannot, by law, apply the test to private hire drivers

It comes as no great surprise to me

We all know Council licensing departments have a fragrant disregard for the law, they just make the rules up as the go & know no one apart from the most well off can challenge them

Take here in Renfrewshire for example, we have to insure our vehicles with comprehensive cover even though the highway code stipulates third party as the minimum necessary

I would defo consider going to the Ombudsman with that.

_________________
IDFIMH

And they insist on it being in plkace before granting licence, thats 3 weeks up the spout, nonsense.