Taxi drivers from outside of Kirklees will soon have to pass a geography test.
Kirklees is the only borough in West Yorkshire that doesn’t currently ask drivers to pass an exam proving they know where places, landmarks and popular destinations are.
As a consequence of the lack of red tape the council had an influx of applications from quick thinking taxi bosses.
Recently relaxed taxi licensing regulations have allowed applications from drivers from outside of the area.
Licensing officials said the rush of non-local applications were overloading the department with work from drivers who they suspected were abusing the system and working outside of Kirklees.
They proposed an eight week public consultation on launching a test as a way to make it harder for out of area applicants.
But the “loophole” will now be closed quicker than planned after a Conservative councillor forced through a bid to fast-track the scheme.
Former Kirklees Tory group leader, Clr Robert Light, proposed to members of the Licensing and Safety Committee that they “get on” with fixing the problem and introduce the test immediately.
Clr Light said Kirklees was deemed “a soft touch.”
He said: “Why do we have to have a consultation on everything?
“Can’t we make a decision on anything?”
Members were advised that a consultation was optional, but advisable to prevent any legal repercussions.
But Clr Light’s bid to speed things up was backed by three fellow Tories and one Lib Dem, outnumbering the four Labour members present.
Surprised licensing officials have said they don’t know when they will have the test policy ready as they were expecting to hold the consultation first and so the final policy is not ready.
During the debate, chair of the committee, Clr Cathy Scott, said: “If people get a licence with us they should know the area.
“This should be a policy to make it more stringent.”
Clr Donna Bellamy, said she thought the test should be for all drivers, not just for ones from outside of Kirklees.
“People might live in Kirklees but not know the area,” she said.
Sohail Rashid from Kirklees Hackney Carriage Association said they supported the test.
A consultation will now be run in parallel with the introduction of the test and the results used to make any revisions to the policy.
Before October 1 private-hire drivers could only be licensed by the area that they lived in.
But for the past two months new rules allow them to be licensed by any local authority in England and Wales.
The law change has also allowed sub-contracting of work, meaning more taxis from Leeds, Bradford, Calderdale and Wakefield have been getting business in Kirklees.
