Taxi tests retained as drivers urge public to use 'local cabs' in Dacorum

Residents have been urged to use 'local' cabs by taxi drivers

Hundreds of drivers turned up to Dacorum Borough Council’s licensing committee meeting, which was held at The Forum on Tuesday evening.

They were there to welcome a U-turn from the council on proposals to scrap geography tests for private hire drivers.

The tests are now set to be retained, but now the local cabbies are keen to educate the public on the benefits of having local drivers with sound knowledge of the town’s roads.

Tabrez Khan is the chairman of the Dacorum Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Association.

He told the Gazette: “Obviously we’re pleased with the decision, we want the training to improve.

“We would urge the public to put safety before price and use locally based drivers.

“Relying on a Sat Nav can be awkward if you come across problems on routes that you don’t know.

“Our next aim is to work with the council and its licensing committee to tackle the cross border driving that is taking place.

“There are some private hire drivers who are licensed with TfL (Transport for London) that could be missing stringent tests because they are not working in London.

“That should be a safety concern for the public.”