Southampton taxi drivers go back to school after soaring complaints (From Daily Echo)
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Southampton taxi drivers go back to school after soaring complaints
11:29am Wednesday 6th May 2009 in
CABBIES in Southampton will all be sent back to school as part of a controversial bid to drive up standards.
It is among a raft of tough conditions proposed for the city’s 1,100 taxi drivers after complaints more than doubled in two years.
Rookie drivers will have to pass a “basic skills assessment” to make sure they can speak English, read and write.
And all drivers will also have to take a BTEC qualification in Transporting Passengers by Taxi or Private Hire Vehicle.
New drivers will have six months to pass. Existing cabbies will get three years to take the multiple-choice exam.
Comments(15)
veracity
says...
12:00pm Wed 6 May 09
Would have thought any right minded person would like cabbies to be knowledgable, disciplined,courteou
s and have a basic grasp of English and the 3 R's.
Some cabbie's are frankly not up to the job and need to be weeded out.#
However I for one would not relish transporting round some of the no marks who are around, especially when the moon is full or the pubs kick out
greystonesben
says...
12:02pm Wed 6 May 09
Red & White Never Blue, Bitterne
says...
12:28pm Wed 6 May 09
greystonesben wrote:The majority of them should get legal work permits first, then learn english, then take the test. By then half of them will be deported and new British citizens could be trained from scratch. "Simples"
3 years to do it... Seems a little pointless. 1 Year maybe, but 3 years is far too long for incompetent existing cabbies to be allowed to continue to work
Northamboy
says...
12:30pm Wed 6 May 09
Northamboy
says...
12:32pm Wed 6 May 09
Northamboy wrote:Sorry jusr read the article again.
Will a basic command of English be included?
Perhaps I should learn to read properly :-(
Irate Wintonian
says...
12:33pm Wed 6 May 09
So speaking English is not even a requirement, so long as they can read it and tick a box?
Ridiculous!
Condor Man
says...
12:52pm Wed 6 May 09
I would like to know if the many Somali drivers have valid UK licences and whether the person driving is actually registered?
The council have a duty to protect the public and cabbies must be made to improve or lose their plates.
nikolai
says...
1:15pm Wed 6 May 09
Condor Man wrote:Many cabbies have sat navs simply because they also use them for personal use, so it's perhaps natural that they have them in the car just in case of a out-of-town trip, which they do fairly often. Believe it or not, work from the cruise ships can take soton cabbies as far as London, Cornwall or even further, so use of a sat nav is understandable.
London cabbies have to pass The Knowledge. I went to London last year and was amazed how the cabbie managed to negiotate his way around the Leicester Sq area. I see cabbies here with Sat Nav, surely that's against the spirit of the job?
I would like to know if the many Somali drivers have valid UK licences and whether the person driving is actually registered?
The council have a duty to protect the public and cabbies must be made to improve or lose their plates.
AnnieP
says...
1:56pm Wed 6 May 09
nikolai wrote:Fair point. The limited-english-spea
Condor Man wrote: London cabbies have to pass The Knowledge. I went to London last year and was amazed how the cabbie managed to negiotate his way around the Leicester Sq area. I see cabbies here with Sat Nav, surely that's against the spirit of the job? I would like to know if the many Somali drivers have valid UK licences and whether the person driving is actually registered? The council have a duty to protect the public and cabbies must be made to improve or lose their plates.Many cabbies have sat navs simply because they also use them for personal use, so it's perhaps natural that they have them in the car just in case of a out-of-town trip, which they do fairly often. Believe it or not, work from the cruise ships can take soton cabbies as far as London, Cornwall or even further, so use of a sat nav is understandable.
king cabbie that picked us up from Calmore a few weeks ago needed his sat-nav to get us to Spicers Hill. A journey of what? 3 miles?
downfader
says...
6:03pm Wed 6 May 09
Condor Man wrote:Theres a taxi licensing authority that issues plates and numbers, they will also have an official ID in the cab... its easy to look up (and if you're taking a cab late at night you really should look at this)
London cabbies have to pass The Knowledge. I went to London last year and was amazed how the cabbie managed to negiotate his way around the Leicester Sq area. I see cabbies here with Sat Nav, surely that's against the spirit of the job? I would like to know if the many Somali drivers have valid UK licences and whether the person driving is actually registered? The council have a duty to protect the public and cabbies must be made to improve or lose their plates.
No one should get into an unlicensed taxi. If you see someone advertising as a taxi driver and doesnt have the proper plates and ID you can report them to the police as its an offence.
shirty
says...
7:16pm Wed 6 May 09
cowley
says...
7:48pm Wed 6 May 09
Reality-man
says...
8:52pm Wed 6 May 09
Laughing
says...
11:48pm Fri 8 May 09
Too many illegal on the road.
I for one dont like using taxis.
Not safe or goverened properly.
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Boris Remmington says...
11:58am Wed 6 May 09
Not the view of the customer I'm sure.