Drivers who have lived in the capital for their whole lives now say they have to fork out £180 for a written essay and speaking test if they do not have evidence of secondary school-level qualifications.
Private hire operators in the city have called the new ruling from Transport for London “insulting” and “penalising the thick” - but TfL said it was "essential for public safety".
Trevor Bedwell, a private hire driver who was born in Shepherd’s Bush and now lives in Kingston, said he had to write “an essay on snow and a magazine article on healthy living” as part of the language test.
The 52-year-old received a letter from TfL telling him he must take the English language test or prove he had a GCSE-level qualification before he could renew his licence under the new policy.
Mr Bedwell, who did not receive any secondary school qualifications, had to take a half-day off of work to take the test.
He told the Standard: “They’re discriminatory against me for being thick at school.
“Maybe my grammar is not quite right, but I can get round London really well.”
He said: “I have lived my whole life in London and the only language I speak is English.
“I suffered this humiliation as I need my licence to work, which I have done so since 1992 in the private hire industry.
“I still am not aware of what they require on the written test as I had to write an essay on snow and a magazine article on healthy living.”
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YORK
Standing outside his Micklegate nightclub, Andrew Whitney saw several Uber drivers picking up fares – but none of the cars was registered in York.
It prompted Andrew to livestream an impassioned plea for residents to boycott US-based Uber and use the city’s long-established taxi firms.
And that Facebook video has clocked up nearly 6,000 views and won praise from many York people concerned about the impact of Uber on taxis in York.
Andrew, who owns the Mansion club on Micklegate, as well as the Whippet Inn restaurant on North Street, told YorkMix: “The taxi system in York has never failed us. It didn’t fail us during Royal Ascot at York. It didn’t fail us during the Tour de France.
“The Uber drivers are only appearing en masse on a Friday or Saturday night. All they’re doing is coming over and taking the cream from the people that support us seven nights a week.”
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SOUTHEND
Stay off our patch! Taxi drivers voice anger as Uber drivers venture into Southend to pick up passengers
TAXI drivers have vented their anger and told Uber cabs: You’re not welcome in Southend.
The taxi app, which allows anyone registered with them to book a taxi from their chosen location, hasn’t been officially launched in the borough, but cars can still be pre-booked through the app.
Michael Bernardson, 72, a taxi driver who lives in Westcliff, said: “The problem is that some people think they are a cab but they are not.
“It is just an app and there is not a great deal of legislation.
“Also, they don’t have a vetting process so any person that has a car can use the app to become a driver.
“It will be detrimental to Southend taxis if they come here officially. Hopefully Southend Council will act and ban them.
“Someone might get into an Uber and have a bad experience and they will think it was a taxi which makes us look bad - I have seen it in London.
“I don’t see the value of Uber coming to Southend, there is already a great service available.”
Gerard Rayment has been a taxi driver in Southend for 20 years isn’t happy either.
He said: “If they come to Southend officially, I wouldn’t be happy.
“They will do further damage to the trade.
“The problem is Uber themselves. The system is unfair – they have undercut prices which makes it difficult
“The system is making the owners rich, but not giving a fair deal to taxi drivers.”
Uber confirmed it had not officially launched in the town, but was keen to.
A spokesman said: “For now there maybe cars in the area that can be pre-booked through the Uber app.”
Currently they don’t officially operate in Southend, anyone can request a pick up from a driver, who might be nearby.
An Uber spokesman said: “Uber abides by the same rules and regulations that govern all other private hire operators.
“All drivers that use the Uber app are licensed private hire drivers which have passed an enhanced DSB background check, the same one black taxi drivers have to pass.”
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BOLTON
A TAXI driver has hit out at council plans to permanently move a town centre rank — which he says is costing him half of his income.
Hackney driver Nigel Ogden is furious after it was revealed that the council is proposing permanently moving a rank from outside the town hall to a space around the corner in Howell Croft North.
The rank, formerly based in Le Mans Crescent and near to Victoria Square, has been temporarily relocated since a £6.5 million scheme to refurbish the Albert Halls started last year.
Mr Ogden said he and other drivers have been badly affected by the changes because customers in the town centre cannot see them parked around the corner, but were confident that the rank would return to the crescent when the Albert Halls work finishes early in the New Year.
The 49-year-old Smithills resident said: “We have now seen a notice from the council’s Highways department which suggests that the rank outside the town hall is going to be closed permanently when the work is finished.
“We haven’t had any notification about this, we were told previously that it would open again where it was.
“The move had really affected us, my wages have gone down drastically — I think I have lost about 50 per cent of my usual income because no one on Victoria Square can see us.”
Mr Ogden, who has been driving a cab for nearly 30 years, said the move is also affecting elderly and disabled people.
He said: “It is a problem for them because they have to walk much further to get to us and we are the only vehicles that can take people with wheelchairs, but they can’t see us.”
He added: “They have also chopped a few trees down in that area so maybe they are planning something, but it is wrong that they haven’t properly notified us — this is our livelihood at the end of the day.”
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