LONDON, Oct 7 (APP): Women and people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, who are currently significantly under-represented in the taxi industry, will now have new opportunities to train to be a licensed taxi driver under a project being launched by the Mayor of London and the London Development Agency.
According to a media release, the project, run by the London Development Agency, aims to address some of the barriers experienced by people from under-represented groups to work towards greater diversity in the taxi trade to reflect London’s diverse population.
Around a third of Londoners are from an ethnic minority background, and over half of Londoners are women. Yet only approximately 5 per cent of London’s taxi drivers are from Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic communities, and 1.6 per cent are women.
The project will support people from under-represented groups in participating and completing the Knowledge. Additionally, help will also be provided where appropriate in language and numeracy skills, and childcare provision.
Launching the programme the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said:
‘The black cab is one of London’s most instantly recognisable trademarks and is an incredibly important part of London’s transport network. This project will help address the barriers to employment that currently exist for women and people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to participate in this important part of our city’s life.’
Mahmud Hasan , Chairman, Consortium for Bengali Associations, said:
“The Consortium of Bengali Associations fully supports the Mayor’s initiative on encouraging more Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Black Cab Drivers. We wish to see more opportunities created to enable more people from the Bangladeshi community to become Black Cab Drivers”.
Dr. Mahmud Bahri, Muslim Council of Britain, while welcoming the scheme commented: “The benefits of this scheme will be felt by communities right across the capital. London is home to more than 7 million people and schemes like this provide an opportunity for every resident to help contribute to the economic success of our city. “