Hundreds of Londoners have signed up to become black taxi drivers after being given the chance to study “The Knowledge” for free.
The initiative is described as the biggest drive to boost the capital’s taxi trade since the 2012 Olympics.
It came as Mayor Sadiq Khan said Transport for London would be asked to draw up a “new vision” for the black cab trade in a bid to safeguard the future of the capital’s iconic taxis.
Freenow, the taxi and minicab app, is offering to cover the cost of studying The Knowledge – which requires drivers to memorise thousands of roads and routes within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross, including hospitals, nightclubs and theatres.
More than 820 drivers have applied and about 550 have met the “eligibility criteria”. Of these, 181 have enrolled with training schools.
Normally it takes several years to complete The Knowledge, at a cost of £4,000 to £5,000. But Freenow will cover 100 per cent of the application cost, tuition fee, exams and licensing over two years for minicab drivers already using its app.
It has bulk-bought places with two taxi driver schools, Knowledge Point School and WizAnn Knowledge School, meaning it is investing more than £2,000 per training place.
Minicab drivers working for rivals such as Uber can sign up for the courses by undertaking 100 trips on the Freenow app and gaining a rating of at least 4.6 – which Freenow believes can be done in a fortnight.
Mariusz Zabrocki, general manager at Freenow UK, told the Standard: “This is the biggest recruitment push since preparations for the Olympics. We have 181 people within one month enrolling into the schools, with hundreds of other pending. Nothing like that has happened since 2012.”
He said the initiative was seeking to overcome the two main barriers to becoming a taxi driver – the cost of doing The Knowledge and the time involved.
“PHV (private hire vehicle/minicab) drivers already have a lot of street knowledge,” he said. “That is the reason we decided to support PHV drivers specifically – they have already done half of the work.
“They are already on the streets. They know the main landmarks. They’re already halfway to get The Knowledge. We believe they can complete the course within two years or less. That is why we are targeting the 20,000 drivers who are on the Freenow app.
“Uber drivers can join and enrol in our programme. I would encourage every PHV driver, if this is their career choice, to sign up.
“It will mean a pretty big boost to their earnings and a pretty big boost to their social status. Let’s be honest – being a black cab driver is way more prestigious than most jobs, not just being a PHV driver.”
Drivers signing up for the free tuition are required to keep working for Freenow during their training, but this obligation ends when they complete the course.
Freenow is a partnership between Mercedes and BMW. It is a sponsor of Luton Town FC.
“We believe we are so attractive to drivers that they will want to drive for us, Mr Zabrocki said. “We are the biggest black cab app on the market and we provide drivers with the most trips.”
Latest figures from TfL show there were 17,673 licensed taxi drivers in December – down almost 2,000 on a year ago. There were a total of 14,755 taxis licensed – up almost 800 on 2021/22.
By comparison, there were 99,937 minicab drivers – the first time the number has fallen below six figures since 2015 – and 80,857 minicabs.
Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, said: “It’s positive to see the number of applicants looking to study the Knowledge increasing in recent months.
“London’s licensed taxi drivers are experiencing high demand for their services and the trade is thriving, so it’s no surprise that numbers on the Knowledge are up.
“We welcome initiatives aimed at encouraging people who are willing to do the hard work required to complete the Knowledge, to uphold our gold standard and join the ranks of the world’s best taxi service.”
TfL’s new taxi strategy is expected to include recommendations on how to replace drivers reaching retirement age and continue the roll-out of “zero emission capable” taxis.
More than half of London cabs can operate on electric power but there are concerns that the cost of a new vehicle – up to £100,000 once the costs of financing a loan are added – are prohibitive.
Caroline Pidgeon, a Lib-Dem member of the London Assembly, said: “Given the uncertainty and challenging conditions faced by the industry, I am glad the mayor has agreed to my calls for a roundtable with the taxi industry, including the various taxi apps, to help shape a new strategy and action plan to help our iconic black taxi service continue to serve London.”
