Scrap Knowledge test for black cabs, think tank urges

THE “Knowledge” test for black cab drivers should be scrapped because satnavs have made it obsolete, a think tank has said.

The Adam Smith Institute (ASI) called for the test to be abolished, amid concern that it gives black cabs an unfair advantage over ride-hailing apps such as Uber.

The Knowledge was introduced for black cab drivers in London in 1865, and requires them to memorise all streets and landmarks within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross station. It is considered the world’s toughest taxi test, and can take up to four years to pass. But the ASI, a free market think tank, said it was one reason there was no level playing field between London cabs and Uber.

A report, backed by Tory MP Greg Smith, who sits on the transport select committee, said Uber drivers should also be allowed to use bus lanes, as black cabs are, and that Britain’s patchwork of taxi-licensing authorities should be replaced with a single body.

The suggestion prompted fury from the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association. Steve Mcnamara, its general secretary, said the proposals “don’t make any sense”. “The one thing that London is famous for is black cabs. We have won every award going, every year for the world’s best cab service,” he said.