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Taxi drivers take 'happy classes'

A Teesside taxi firm has been praised by city officials after 45 of its staff manoeuvred their way through a brand new national qualification. The taxi drivers from Boro Cars, based on Station Road, Middlesbrough - the first of 350 staff who will eventually take the course - have completed the Edexcel Level 2 BTEC Award in Transporting Passengers by Taxi and Private Hire, a vocational qualification developed to enhance customer service and driving standards for the passenger transport industry.

Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon said: “Taxi drivers are often the first person a visitor sees and first impressions are vital, so to see these taxi drivers passing this qualification is excellent news for Middlesbrough. Customer service is so important to the people out there and the public value that. “This qualification reinforces to people that they can feel relaxed and confident that taxi drivers are doing their job properly, and they are doing it well.”

To pass the course, which usually takes about 70 hours to complete, drivers are taught the knowledge, understanding and skills to provide an effective road transport service, customer service skills and health & safety awareness, including how to respond in an accident.

John Moon, Boro Cars manager, said: “The Act of Law governing hackney carriages is from 1847, which is ludicrous, so it is about time qualifications of this nature were dragged into the 21st century. It’s important to train drivers correctly and raise their profile, because the taxi trade has for too long been thought of as a low trade. “The qualification has also given the drivers a great sense of achievement, because even know they are experienced and professional already, they now have the certificate to prove it.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .