Aberdeen taxi licensing review to consider easing street knowledge test for private hire drivers
- Perry Richardson
- 11 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Aberdeen City Council is preparing to review its Taxi and Private Hire Policy, with a proposed consultation set to examine whether the city’s Street Knowledge Test is limiting the growth of app-based private hire services such as Uber.
According the AGCC, a report due to go before the council’s Licensing Committee recommends launching a formal public consultation that would include a reassessment of the requirement for all taxi and private hire drivers to pass the Street Knowledge Test before being licensed. The test currently applies across both sectors, regardless of operating model.
Uber is already active in the Aberdeen market, but the company has previously raised concerns that the knowledge test acts as a barrier to driver recruitment. Unlike traditional taxi operations, app-based platforms rely on GPS navigation rather than route memorisation, making local knowledge testing less central to their service model.
The council report explicitly proposes seeking public views on whether the Street Knowledge Test should continue to apply to private hire drivers, be amended, or be removed entirely for that category. Any relaxation would bring Aberdeen more closely into line with other UK cities, where private hire licensing regimes typically do not require formal street knowledge assessments and where app-based operators have expanded more rapidly.
Council consultation will examine whether current licensing rules are restricting app-based operators from scaling in the city
The proposed review goes beyond driver testing and would also examine other elements of the city’s licensing framework that affect both taxis and private hire vehicles. These include vehicle age limits and restrictions on vehicle advertising.
At present, Aberdeen operates separate licensing zones for the city and the airport. The report suggests that the consultation should explore combining the zones, which would allow all taxis to operate across the full council area. Such a change could have operational implications for both city-based drivers and airport work allocations.
The public consultation is expected to run from February to March 2026, with officers due to analyse responses and report findings back to the Licensing Committee in May. Any policy changes would be subject to further committee approval before implementation.
If progressed, the review could mark one of the most significant updates to Aberdeen’s taxi and private hire licensing regime in recent years, with potential implications for market competition, driver supply and the balance between traditional and app-based transport services in the city.
