Bristol Taxi Knowledge Test: Format, Changes and Practice

The Bristol taxi knowledge test is changing, and that is why so many people search for whether it has been "scrapped". It has not. Bristol City Council has approved a new private hire test without the city geography questions, but until that new test starts, every applicant sits the current one. This page explains the change first, then the current format, the very different pass marks for private hire and hackney carriage, the local rules, the fare table with a worked example, and how to practise.

UK Driver Licence Prep is an independent study aid, not part of Bristol City Council. Facts come from the council's taxi driver tests page, its Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy 2021 to 2026, its fees from 1 May 2026 and its tariff card, checked in October 2026. We will update this page when the new private hire test begins.

What's changing in the Bristol knowledge test

	Current position (October 2026)
Decision	The Public Safety and Protection Committee approved removing geography questions from the private hire test
Replaced with	Questions on disability awareness, legislation, policy and other relevant topics
When	Not yet. The council says the current test continues until the new one is in place; no date has been published
Hackney carriage test	No change announced
Why	Trade press reported that only 8 of 133 private hire candidates passed in early 2025 (Local Government Lawyer); private hire journeys are pre-booked and most drivers use sat-nav

The 8-out-of-133 figure is a press report of a council committee paper, not a figure on the council's own test page, but it explains the decision: the geography sections were failing almost everyone.

Key fact: If you are applying for a Bristol private hire licence now, you still need to prepare for the geography sections. The change applies only once the council launches the new test.

What the change means for you

• Applying soon: prepare for the current test, including districts, places of interest, and clubs, pubs, restaurants and hotels.
• Applying later: check the council's page before you book. When the new test starts, expect more questions on disability awareness, legislation and policy, which are already in our bank.
• Hackney applicants: nothing changes. You need the full geography, including places outside the city, at 90%.

Bristol taxi knowledge test at a glance

Item	Private hire	Hackney carriage
Questions	100 multiple choice	100 multiple choice
Time	Up to 90 minutes	Up to 90 minutes
Pass mark	75% overall	90% overall
Section minimum	40% or 50% per section	40% or 50% per section
Extra topics	None	Offices and flats; places outside Bristol
Fee	£69	£69
Booking	Apply for a licence first, then book by phone (0117 357 4900) and pay when booking	Same
Changes	Bookings cannot be changed; book and pay again	Same

The council does not publish which sections need 40% and which need 50%, how many questions are in each section, or a limit on attempts. Ask the licensing team if you need those details.

75% against 90%

The gap is bigger than it looks. At 75% you can drop 25 questions. At 90% you can drop only 10, across a paper that also includes offices, flats and places outside the city. A private hire driver who later wants to switch to hackney work must pass the knowledge test again at the hackney standard.

Exam tip: Hackney candidates should practise until they score 95% or more. A 90% pass line leaves almost no room for a bad day.

What each section covers

Sections in both tests

• Safety, including child sexual exploitation. Recognising and reporting concerns, and keeping yourself and passengers safe. Practise in Bristol safeguarding and see our guide to safeguarding questions for taxi drivers.
• Clubs, pubs, restaurants and hotels. Where well-known venues are. This is one of the geography sections due to leave the private hire test.
• Districts and places of interest. Areas of the city and landmarks. Also a geography section.
• Change calculations and road safety. Working out fares and change, plus Highway Code points. Practise in Bristol fares and numeracy.
• Policy and legislation. The council's licensing policy and conditions, and the law behind them.
• Equality. Duties to disabled passengers and assistance dog owners. Practise in Bristol equality.

Extra sections in the hackney test

• Offices and flats. Business premises and residential blocks.
• Places outside Bristol. Destinations beyond the city boundary, such as the airport and nearby towns.

The council publishes a PDF of example questions on its tests page. Look at it to see the style, but treat it as a sample, not a revision list.

Learning Bristol's geography

Even if the private hire test is about to change, geography is still tested today, and the hackney test depends on it. Start with places that come up again and again:

Place	Road or area
Bristol Temple Meads station	Station Approach
Bristol Cathedral	College Green
Bristol Hippodrome	St Augustine's Parade
Bristol Beacon	Colston Street
Bristol Old Vic	King Street
M Shed	Princes Wharf
Southmead Hospital	Southmead Road
Bristol Royal Hospital for Children	Upper Maudlin Street
St Michael's Hospital	Southwell Street

Know what is outside the city boundary: Bristol Airport is in North Somerset, while Cribbs Causeway and Bristol Parkway station are in South Gloucestershire. Then learn the main roads: the M32 into the centre from the M4, the Portway (A4) to Avonmouth, Gloucester Road (A38) to the north, and the A4 Bath Road through Brislington.

Practise in Bristol local area and with a map. For the hackney test, add the main hotels, office buildings and residential blocks in the centre and Harbourside.

Other steps to a Bristol taxi licence

Step	Detail (as of October 2026)
Safeguarding training	Mandatory before licensing
Gold Standard training and DVSA advanced taxi test	Currently paused while new providers are found; you may be licensed first and told later when to complete them
DBS	Enhanced check, and DBS Update Service for as long as you hold a licence
DVLA	Licence history check at each three-year renewal
Medical	Group 2 standard; every 5 years from 45, every year from 65
Driver licence fee (from May 2026)	£140 for 1 year, £209 for 2 years, £251 for 3 years

Bristol rules worth learning

The policy and legislation section draws on rules like these, from the council's licensing policy and conditions.

Reporting and returns

Event	Deadline
Arrest, interview, charge, caution, conviction or fixed penalty	In writing by close of business the next working day
Penalty points on your DVLA licence	In writing by the next working day
Accident causing damage or injury	In writing by the next working day
Badge after expiry, revocation or suspension	Return within 3 working days
Vehicle plates after revocation, suspension or expiry	Return within 7 days
Hackney meter after a tariff change	Recalibrate within 14 days

Bristol's "next working day" rule is tighter than many councils' 48 or 72 hours. Learn it exactly.

Conduct

• Be clean and respectable in dress and person, and behave in an orderly way.
• Wear your badge on your upper body when you are outside the vehicle while working, and never lend it.
• Private hire vehicles must not park at or within 20 metres of a hackney rank, except to set down.
• Take the most expedient route unless the passenger agrees otherwise. No luggage on the roof.
• Tell the council which operator you work for before you start.
• Lost property follows your operator's policy; a suspicious package goes straight to the police.

Vehicles, signs and cameras

Rule	Detail
Hackney colour	All-over Bristol Blue
Private hire colour	New vehicles cannot be blue
Age at first licensing	Under 3.5 years old
Older vehicles	Over 8 years: six-monthly inspection and a six-month licence
New hackneys	Must be ultra low emission vehicles, unless replacing an existing one
Hackney plates	Front offside and rear offside
TAXI roof sign	Lit only when plying for hire; off when the meter is running
Payment	Card and contactless accepted with no surcharge
CCTV	Allowed under ICO rules, no audio, with a sign telling passengers
Dash cams	Outward facing only
Radio scanners	Not allowed
Private hire roof	No fittings except an aerial

Key fact: In Bristol, colour tells passengers what they are getting in: Bristol Blue means a hackney carriage. A blue private hire car is not allowed for new licences.

Bristol hackney fares and a worked example

Bristol sets six hackney tariffs: day, night, weekend day, weekend night, bank holiday, and Christmas and New Year. Tariff 1 (Monday to Friday, 06:00 to 21:00) starts at £3.00 and adds 20p per unit, with waiting time at £20 an hour.

Extras include:

• 20p for an unbooked hire from Temple Meads station
• 50p for each extra adult (children under 14 are not counted)
• 50p per large case and 30p per medium bag
• a cap of £6.00 on extras in total
• fouling up to £100

Assistance dogs and wheelchairs are carried free.

Worked example. On Tariff 1 the meter shows £8.20. You were hailed at Temple Meads by two adults with one large case.

• Unbooked hire from Temple Meads: + £0.20
• One extra adult (the first passenger is included in the fare): + £0.50
• One large case: + £0.50
• Total: £8.20 + £0.20 + £0.50 + £0.50 = £9.40

The extras total £1.20, well below the £6.00 cap. Change calculations like this are part of a test section in both versions.

Equality and safeguarding in Bristol

Assistance dogs must be carried free under section 168 of the Equality Act 2010. An exemption needs detailed medical evidence and must be displayed. In a hackney, wheelchair passengers normally travel facing the rear, secured with a three-point belt. If you think a child may be in immediate danger, call 999. Know Avon and Somerset Police's "This Is Not An Excuse" campaign on child sexual exploitation, which the council's safety questions draw on.

The national standards behind these rules are in the Department for Transport's statutory taxi and private hire vehicle standards. For the difference between the two licence types, see private hire vs hackney carriage.

How our Bristol practice matches the test

Our Bristol route has 2,270 questions: about 2,000 shared council questions on the Highway Code, signs, law, safeguarding and equality, and questions written for Bristol's policy, fares and geography. The ten Bristol mocks use the private hire format: 100 questions in 90 minutes, with 75 correct to pass.

	Real test	Our mocks
Questions and time	100 in 90 minutes	100 in 90 minutes
Pass mark	75% private hire, 90% hackney	75 correct; hackney candidates should aim for 90+
Section minimums	40% or 50% (not published which)	Results show each section so you can spot weak ones
Geography	Districts, venues, places of interest	Local area questions; add map work
Hackney extras	Offices, flats, outside Bristol	Partly covered; use a map and the council's examples

When the new private hire test starts, our policy, legislation and equality questions will carry more weight. The shared core is explained on our council taxi knowledge test page. If you are also looking at a nearby council, the Stroud taxi knowledge test covers Gloucestershire.

Your study plan

1. Today: check the council's tests page for news of the new private hire test, then take the free Bristol diagnostic.
2. This week: read our free Bristol council note and download the council's example questions. Learn the reporting table.
3. Next two weeks: learn the geography table and 20 more venues a day; practise fares and change sums without a calculator.
4. Before booking: sit the free Bristol mock 1 under the timer. Print the Bristol worksheet for revision away from the screen.
5. Then: Pro unlocks mocks 2 to 10 and section practice from £6.99 a week; see pricing. Book when you pass three mocks in a row at 85% (95% for hackney), remembering that bookings cannot be changed.