City of York Council Taxi Knowledge Test

The City of York taxi knowledge test is not a stand-alone exam you book and sit cold. It is the last part of a full training day. You spend the day learning safeguarding, equality and the rules for licensed drivers, then sit a written test on what you covered, plus York's routes, locations and places of interest. This guide explains how the day works, the pass mark and attempt limit, and the local rules, ranks, footstreets and fares you need to know. It is about York in North Yorkshire, England, licensed by City of York Council.

City of York Council licenses hackney carriage drivers (taxis that can be hailed and use ranks) and private hire drivers (pre-booked work through an operator) under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 and its own byelaws and policy. It must be satisfied that every driver is "fit and proper", meaning safe and trustworthy enough to carry the public alone. UK Driver Licence Prep is an independent study aid with no link to the council. Facts below come from the council's driver licence page, its fees page, its fares page, its guidance notes for applicants and its licensing policy (both November 2024), checked in October 2026. Confirm details on the council's driver licence page before you book.

The York knowledge test at a glance

	Detail
Who	All new hackney carriage and private hire driver applicants
Format	A Knowledge and Safeguarding training day ending in a written test
Run by	The council's Workforce Development Unit (WDU)
Content	The training topics, plus routes, locations and places of interest in York
Questions	The council's example paper has 30
Pass mark	26 correct answers (guidance notes)
Attempts	Re-sit after a fail, up to 6 tests in total
Results	Usually within 10 working days
Time allowed	Not published
Fee	Not published; the WDU confirms it when you book
Optional	A "preparing for taxi knowledge" day on licensing requirements, the test, pedestrian zones and routes
When	Before you can submit your licence application

You book the training day and test through the Workforce Development Unit, by email or through the council's online learning site. The council also publishes example knowledge test questions with answers and a list of test route locations. Download both from its taxi driver knowledge test page.

Key fact: York caps you at six attempts. Treat each sitting as valuable and only book when your practice scores are well above the pass line.

What the training day and test cover

The council's example paper shows the mix of questions. Described in our own words, it covers:

• Safeguarding: the law on safeguarding adults (the Care Act 2014), who counts as a child (anyone under 18), types of adult abuse, and the steps for responding to a concern. Our guide to safeguarding questions for taxi drivers covers this ground in depth.
• Equality: protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, the difference between direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and your duties to disabled passengers and assistance dog users.
• Customer service: everyday situations such as punctuality, a passenger asking you to turn the radio off, helping with heavy luggage in bad weather, and what "civil and orderly" behaviour means.
• Routes: the shortest route in distance between two named places in York.
• Locations: which street a pub, venue or landmark is on.
• Licence conditions and byelaws: statements about badges, vehicles and conduct where you pick the correct one.

The council also expects you to research some topics yourself before the day: legislation, licence conditions and byelaws, the pedestrian zone, and the geography of York. The day teaches a lot, but it does not replace that homework.

Practise the York-specific parts in York local policy and York local area, and the shared parts in York safeguarding and equality.

Exam tip: Route questions ask for the shortest route in distance, not the quickest. Inside the walls, check one-way streets and the footstreets before you choose.

York ranks and the footstreets

Ranks and the pedestrian zone are York's most local topic, and they matter every working day.

Council ranks

Rank	Detail
Duncombe Place, near the Minster	Full-time rank for 10 cars
St Saviourgate	Rank A for 12 cars, with feeder Rank B for 4
St Sampson's Square	Part-time rank, 8pm to 6am
Racecourse	Used on race days only
Railway station	Private rank, not controlled by the council

Under the hackney carriage byelaws, a hackney that is plying for hire and not hired must go to a stand, except between 7pm and 7am. Only hackney carriages may ply for hire; private hire work must be booked through a licensed operator. Our page on plying for hire explains the law.

The footstreets

York's city-centre footstreets close to most traffic from 10.30am to 5pm, seven days a week, and some streets are closed 24 hours. Parliament Street and Coney Street are footstreets. Castlegate has a Blue Badge exemption. You cannot drive a passenger to a door on a footstreet during those hours, so learn the nearest legal drop-off points around the edge of the zone.

Key fact: St Sampson's Square only works as a rank from 8pm to 6am. In the daytime it sits inside the footstreets.

York rules you must know

These come from the council's guidance notes and policy (November 2024).

Reporting deadlines

Event	Deadline
Arrest (charged or not), conviction, caution, summons or fixed penalty	48 hours, in writing
Change of address, phone, operator or proprietor (private hire)	3 days
Serious illness or medication that may affect your driving	14 days
Accident affecting a hackney's safety or appearance	72 hours
Lost property found in a private hire vehicle	To the Licensing Office within 48 hours
Unclaimed lost property in a hackney (byelaws)	To a council office or police station within 48 hours

Conduct

• Wear your badge whenever you operate the vehicle.
• Be civil and orderly with passengers, other drivers and officers.
• No smoking or vaping in the vehicle at any time, or beside it if the smoke gets in.
• No child under 10 in the front of a private hire vehicle, except risk-assessed contract work.
• Radio only with the hirer's consent.
• No engine idling while parked and waiting, especially at ranks.

Vehicles and plates

Rule	Detail
Colour	Since 22 November 2024, hackneys black; private hire any colour except black (plate-exempt executive vehicles excluded)
Capacity	Maximum 8 passengers
Inspections	Vehicles over 5 years old are inspected twice a year at the Eco Depot
Hackney markings	Plate beside or below the number plate; coat of arms decal on each front door; roof sign off while the meter records a fare
Private hire signs	Rear door signs reading "PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLE - PRE BOOKED ONLY"; never "TAXI" or "FOR HIRE"
Other	No bull bars; only council-approved CCTV; windscreen tint must let through at least 75% of light

York hackney fares and a worked example

The council sets maximum hackney carriage fares. From the council's fares page, checked in October 2026:

Tariff	When	Starts at	Then
1	7am to 10pm	£3.40	20p per 132.4 m or 37.9 seconds waiting
2	10pm to 7am	£4.40	20p per 132.4 m or 37.9 seconds waiting
3	Race days, to and from York Racecourse	£6.20	20p per 132.4 m or 37.9 seconds waiting
4 and 5	Christmas and New Year premium rates, day and night	£5.10 and £6.60	30p per 132.4 m

Premium rates run from 7pm on Christmas Eve to 7am on 27 December, and from 7pm on New Year's Eve to 7am on 2 January. Extras: 50p each for the third and fourth passengers (children under 12 free); 50p per item of luggage in the boot, up to £1; £2 on bank holidays; a soiling charge of up to £90.

Worked example. At 11pm on a Saturday the Tariff 2 meter shows £12.80. You are carrying three adults and one child aged 8, with three suitcases in the boot. The third passenger adds 50p; the fourth is under 12, so free. Three cases would be £1.50, but the luggage extra stops at £1. Total: £12.80 + £0.50 + £1.00 = £14.30.

Practise sums like this in York fares and numeracy. Private hire fares are set by your operator, not by the council.

Learning York's geography

The test asks for streets and shortest routes, so learn landmarks with the road they are on.

Place	Street or area
York railway station	Station Road
York Minster	By Duncombe Place and Deangate
Clifford's Tower	Tower Street
Jorvik Viking Centre	Coppergate
Theatre Royal	St Leonard's Place
Mansion House	St Helen's Square
York Hospital	Wigginton Road
The Retreat	Heslington Road
LNER Community Stadium	Kathryn Avenue, Monks Cross
York Racecourse	The Knavesmire
University of York	Heslington

Then learn the bigger frame:

• Ring roads: the A1237 around the north and west, and the A64 around the south and east.
• Bridges: Lendal Bridge, Ouse Bridge and Skeldergate Bridge cross the Ouse in the centre.
• Park & Ride sites: including Askham Bar on Tadcaster Road and Poppleton Bar on the A59.
• Villages inside York: Haxby, Strensall, Copmanthorpe and Bishopthorpe are in the City of York area. Tadcaster and Easingwold are not; they are in North Yorkshire, licensed by a different council.

Use the council's list of test route locations to plan practice routes on a map, then drive them.

Other steps to a York licence

The training day is one requirement. The council's application appointment checks the rest:

1. A full UK, EC or EEA driving licence held for at least 12 months.
2. A practical driving assessment with an approved provider (Blue Lamp Trust, Green Penny or AA Drivetech). The certificate lasts two years. If you will drive a wheelchair accessible vehicle, take the wheelchair assessment at the same time.
3. A Group 2 medical by your registered doctor on the council's form, less than six months old when you apply, then again at 45, 50, 55, 60 and 65, and yearly after 65.
4. An enhanced DBS check through the council, then the DBS Update Service, checked every six months.
5. Right to work, tax check code if you held a licence elsewhere in the last 12 months, and an overseas criminal record check if you lived abroad as an adult.
6. Training requirements also include an English assessment and an advanced driving test, with refresher training every three years.

Fees (council fees page, as of October 2026): a 3-year hackney carriage or private hire driver licence costs £190 to apply plus £190 when granted, and £282 to renew. The DBS check is £49.50 plus a £25 administration charge. Fees change each April. Applications normally take 4 to 8 weeks, mostly because of DBS processing. Renewal papers must reach the council at least two weeks before your licence expires.

How our York practice matches the real test

Our York route has 2,290 questions: about 2,000 shared council questions on the Highway Code, signs, law, safeguarding and equality, and the rest written for York's policy, byelaws, fares and places. The ten mock tests use 30 questions in 45 minutes, weighted towards local policy, local area, safeguarding, equality and law, like the example paper.

Where we differ: our mocks set the pass line at 27 out of 30, one higher than the council's 26. That stricter line is our assumption, chosen so that a pass in our mock gives you a margin on the day. The council does not publish a time limit, so our 45 minutes is also our choice. The real test follows a day of training, which our mocks cannot copy. The York study note sums up this page for revision, and the printable question sheet gives you questions with an answer key on paper.

Licensed next door instead? North Yorkshire Council runs its own written test with a different format; see the North Yorkshire taxi knowledge test. For the wider picture, read the council taxi knowledge test guide.

Your study plan

1. Today: take the free York diagnostic to find your weak areas.
2. This week: download the council's example questions and route locations list. Learn the ranks, footstreets and reporting deadlines on this page.
3. Next week: plan every route on the locations list on a map, and drill York local area and local policy questions.
4. Before booking the training day: sit the free York mock 1. With six attempts available, wait until you score three mocks in a row at 85% or more.
5. If you want more papers: Pro unlocks mocks 2 to 10 and section practice from £6.99 a week; see pricing.