UK Taxi & PHV study guide
UK Taxi & PHV · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
Taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) driver licensing in Great Britain is administered by individual licensing authorities - Transport for London for London PHVs, and unitary, district or county councils elsewhere in England and Wales, with a separate regime in Scotland. There is no single national knowledge examination that a driver sits once and holds everywhere. The UK Taxi & PHV study guide has 8 sections and about 2,700 words.
01Licensing law, regulation and the role of the licensing authority
Outside London the local council is the licensing authority: hackney carriages under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, and PHV drivers, vehicles and operators under Part II of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. In London the role sits with Transport for London (London Cab Order; Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998).
352 words, about 2 min02Road safety, traffic law and driver responsibilities
A licensed driver's conduct is measured against the Highway Code, the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Construction and Use Regulations. Core concepts: speed limits (30 mph on restricted roads with street lighting unless signed otherwise; Wales now defaults to 20 mph on restricted roads); the hierarchy of road users, which places the greatest duty of care on those who can do the most harm; and stopping distances that roughly double in the wet and increase far more on ice.
344 words, about 2 min03Topographical skills and route planning / local knowledge
Topographical tests examine practical knowledge of the licensing area: principal radial roads, ring roads, one-way systems, banned turns, bus lanes and their hours, weight and height restrictions, level crossings, station entrances and ranked stands, hospital drop-offs, airport terminals and their drop-off charges, and the charging zone and clean-air zone boundaries. In London, black cab drivers pass the Knowledge (All London or Suburban, based on "runs" and points), while PHV applicants sit a separate topographical skills assessment covering map reading, route planning and the ability to identify locations within a set radius of a landmark.
332 words, about 2 min04Vehicle knowledge, roadworthiness and maintenance
A licensed vehicle must be roadworthy at all times, not merely on inspection day. Operational concepts: pre-use walk-round checks, a written defect-reporting system, planned preventive maintenance, MOT (annually once the vehicle is three years old) and any additional licensing inspections the council requires - often twice a year.
309 words, about 2 min05Customer care, communication and English language competence
London PHV drivers must pass TfL's SERU assessment, which tests speaking and listening, reading and writing in English; elsewhere the same competence is expected and assessed through the licensing process. The standard is functional: understand a booking, confirm a destination, explain a route, discuss a fare and handle a complaint clearly and politely.
327 words, about 2 min06Safeguarding, equality, accessibility and passenger safety
Safeguarding covers children and adults at risk. Learn the indicators of child sexual exploitation, county lines involvement, modern slavery and trafficking, domestic abuse and hate crime: a child out late with an unrelated adult, a passenger who cannot speak for themselves, someone who seems coached about where they are going, unexplained injuries, or a fare paid by a third party who controls the conversation.
326 words, about 2 min07Health, safety and driver wellbeing at work
Health and safety law applies to a self-employed driver as much as to a fleet. The core concepts: risk assessment of the routes and times you work; fatigue management; fitness to drive; lone-working precautions; and clear procedures for violence, aggression and emergencies.
348 words, about 2 min08Fares, meter use and payment handling
Hackney carriage fares are set by the licensing authority in a published table of fares, which states a maximum for each tariff and the permitted extras. On a hackney journey the meter must be used, switched on at the start, and the fare must never exceed the table.
362 words, about 2 min