5:11pm Monday 20th July 2009
By Matt Smith
AROUND a quarter of cabbies in Southampton are now taking daily exams to show they can do their job.
Around 265 drivers have signed up to take the controversial BTEC qualification in transporting passengers by taxi or private hire vehicle.
The trade is split over a bid by Southampton City Council licensing chiefs to make the qualification compulsory.
Distinctive Training, which is running the courses for local colleges, claims all drivers have learnt something new.
But union bosses insist the tests are “insulting” to drivers and are being proposed to cover failures in council enforcement.
They complain an agreement that new drivers should sit the exam still hasn’t been implemented.
Councillors are considering whether to agree to the new licensing conditions such as the BTEC, digital cameras in cabs, and extra six-monthly MoT tests for cabs.
A heated consultation meeting with the trade behind closed doors failed to find agreement on a way forward.
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