BLACK cabs could be at the end of the road — as the Knowledge Test faces calls to be axed.
An influential think tank says drivers for ride-hailing apps including Uber should be allowed the same privileges as black cabbies.
A report by the Adam Smith Institute recommends the world-famous London map test should go — which licensed taxi leaders warned last night would be a “disaster”.
Minicabs and others should also be able to use bus lanes and pick up passengers from the street to make services cheaper and easier, the institute recommends.
Ministers are currently mulling over more regulation by introducing an Ofqual-certified test for all potential cabbies.
But the ASI and Tory MP Greg Smith are calling for greater deregulation.
Mr Smith said reform is “long overdue”, adding: “The revolution in consumer choice that services like Uber brought needs to be matched with the way the state sees taxi services.”
Steve McNamara, of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, blasted the idea.
He said: “This report seems to advocate for a race to bottom, which would undermine the quality of the important service licensed taxis provide and seriously jeopardise passenger safety.”
He said it was exploring “how the Knowledge could be modernised” but scrapping it “would be catastrophic for the industry and passengers”.
