{"id":7105,"date":"2015-12-11T17:21:12","date_gmt":"2015-12-11T17:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=7105"},"modified":"2015-12-11T17:21:12","modified_gmt":"2015-12-11T17:21:12","slug":"world-class-standards-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=7105","title":{"rendered":"World-class standards threat"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The Knowledge \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a test that all black cab drivers must take in order to obtain a licence \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is an integral part in maintaining London\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s world-class black cab trade standards.<\/p>\n

 
\nBut now, the Greater London Authority Conservatives are calling for the test to be scrapped in its present form.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe test requires future black cab drivers to learn 25,000 street names, 320 routes and about 20,000 landmarks of public interest, including popular tourist destinations, museums, police stations, parks, schools, churches and theatres.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe Knowledge, which consists of a written exam and oral tests, usually takes two to four years to complete before drivers can successfully secure a licence.<\/p>\n

 
\nIn a report<\/a> by Tory GLA member Richard Tracey, published today (December 11), calls were made to reduce the Knowledge requirements by two-thirds.<\/p>\n

 
\nTracey argued that the test was a \u00e2\u20ac\u015bmajor barrier\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 to entry in the trade and was obsolete in the age of GPS navigation. The report pointed to the ageing black cab workforce, saying that the Knowledge was deterring future drivers from entering into the profession.<\/p>\n

 
\nBut branch officer for Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s London cab section Peter Rose argued that the Tories did not have any true concern for the future of their profession.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOnce again, this is just another example of the Tory party’s agenda to deregulate taxi and private hire services in favour of non-UK tax paying predatory invaders,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said, referring to app-based services such as Uber.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bLondon’s fully accessible taxi service is a tremendous asset to the city, which year on year voted the world’s best,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Rose added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhy would anyone want to change that?<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe idea that the Knowledge is a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098barrier to entry in the trade\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 is absolutely preposterous. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a barrier to trade \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a qualification for the job.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bYou don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t encourage more people into the trade by lowering standards,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Rose went on to say. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere are many other measures that can be taken to aid recruitment \u00e2\u20ac\u201c employing more examiners, removing associated fees , or creating apprenticeship programmes and bursaries similar to what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s available to students.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nRose argued that, as the most accessible mode of transport, the London black cab service deserves support.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAll of our vehicles are fully wheelchair accessible, with 98 per cent of people in London being able to take a black cab,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be said for any other mode of transport in the city. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s needed most of all is investment from Transport from London, not so-called reports that seek to destroy our profession and high standards.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite the union will continue leading the fightback against deregulation and low standards, just as it did with the Tory’s recent Law Commission review and Deregulation Bill.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nFor more information on the Cab Trade’s fightback union, please visit unitetheunion.org\/cabsection<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Knowledge \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a test that all black cab drivers must take in order to obtain a licence \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is an integral part in maintaining London\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s world-class black cab trade standards.   But now, the Greater London Authority Conservatives are calling for the test to be scrapped in its present form.   The test requires […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7106,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[114],"wps_subtitle":"London Tories call to scrap black cab Knowledge test","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7105"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7105"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7108,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7105\/revisions\/7108"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}