New taxi drivers face area knowledge tests

TAXI DRIVERS will have to sit a new driver skills test covering knowledge of their vehicle, geographical knowledge, and their attitude to customers, the Commission for Taxi Regulation announced yesterday.

Any new entrants to the taxi business small public service vehicle (SPSV) industry must now engage in a skills development programme and area knowledge test.

Existing drivers will not be required to complete the area knowledge element of the test on the basis that they will have already sat a similar version set up by the Garda.

However they will have to undergo the skills development programme as it is rolled out across the industry on a phased basis.

The main elements of the new test are:

- The basic rules of operating in the SPSV (small public service vehicle) industry, including licensing, regulations, rights and responsibilities;

- Vehicle knowledge, including standards, testing and maintenance;

- Area knowledge, route selection, map reading, testing and fares;

- Delivering customer satisfaction, including disability awareness, diversity and equality and complaints;

- The SPSV business, including planning, promoting and running a business;

- Safety, including personal security, health and safety and emergency situations.

The test is to be divided into two parts: industry knowledge and area knowledge, including the national and local routes.

The cost of the test is to be €85.05 while a “required learning” official manual costs €30. Existing drivers will not be charged for their first test.

All licensed dispatch operators will also be required to have at least one designated senior employee who has passed the complete test, prior to being granted a dispatch operator’s licence by the commission.

Commissioner for Taxi Regulation Kathleen Doyle said she acknowledged “many drivers already offer an excellent service” but added: “Ongoing personal development is a necessary requirement of any successful business and it is part of the commission’s objective to ensure that the SPSV industry has highly-skilled drivers delivering high-quality services.”

Frank Byrne of Drivers for Change criticised what he said was a lack of consultation with drivers before the announcement.

While he said a skills programme was a good idea, it did not go far enough. He said it should include a far greater practical element similar to that used in London.

He also criticised its ultimate extension of the test to existing drivers, remarking that he had 16 years’ experience.

“Am I to have to now sit a test to keep my job?” he asked.

A spokesman for the commission later rejected the drivers’ complaints, saying drivers had a number of representatives on the taxi regulator’s advisory panel which had been considering the plans for some time.