Think Tank Recommends Scrapping The Knowledge
One of the key recommendations the Adam Smith Institute make in their report is the removal of local knowledge tests for drivers.
“The Knowledge, and other topographical tests, should be removed as requirements with the advent of regularly-updated GPS and traffic-mapping systems.”
The issue of knowledge tests is something that has been discussed a lot in recent years. It always come back to the same point, with modern satnavs and GPS, do drivers really need to have an intimate knowledge of the local area?
For smaller areas, it could definitely be argued that topographical knowledge tests are redundant. But for huge urban expanses like London, local knowledge can only be beneficial to both drivers and passengers.
There are topographical knowledge tests in most major cities worldwide, not just London. New York, Paris, and Berlin all require taxi drivers to sit a knowledge test. Even in Japan, a nation renowned for embracing technology, still require potentially taxi drivers to sit knowledge exams.
However, it’s undeniable that traffic navigation systems do make planning a journey significantly easier. But knowledge tests in cities shouldn’t be scrapped entirely. In such a huge area, having a local knowledge allows people to respond to events more intuitively than if they were relying on a satnav.
Maybe The Knowledge should be made easier, but definitely not scrapped.
Who are the Adam Smith Institute
The Adam Smith Institute are a UK-based neo-liberal think-tank. Policy recommendations from the group were heavily influential through the Thatcher years. Their policy suggestions were also adopted by John Major's and Tony Blair’s governments.
While the report does make some valid claims, such as overhauling old legislation, there is some doubt as to its impartiality. Think tank watchdog Transparify has rated the Adam Smith Institute as one of the most ‘opaque’ think tanks in the world.
This means they keep their finances and donors hidden from the public. In the past, they have been heavily criticised when it was revealed they were donations from tobacco firms to target anti-smoking campaigns.
As you can see from the embedded tweet, in recent years they have been staunch supporters of Uber.
— Barry MM (@Barrygreenie) May 5, 2022
Many of the report’s recommendations focus on how legislation could be changed to make it easier for ride-sharing companies. Reading the report, if someone were to tell you it was published by a ride-sharing firm, it would come as no surprise.
They even claim that ride-sharing apps ‘…are the most popular mode of hired transport services’ but provide no evidence to substantiate this. Official stats stress that they are unable to disaggregate the data to reflect accurate numbers of ride-sharing versus traditional private hires.
It’s no surprise that the report has been met with fierce criticism online.
JP and Ryan will be discussing the report in more detail on the next episode of the What Time You on ‘Til? podcast. You can catch the most recent episodes here and you can check out our new YouTube channel via the link below!