SERU journeys: questions and answers

1. As a London PHV driver, which bookings can you carry out?

1. Any booking a friend passes to you
2. Only bookings from a licensed London operator (correct answer)
3. Any booking from a person on the street
4. Any booking from a hotel's front desk

Answer: B. Only bookings from a licensed London operator. You can only carry out bookings you received from a licensed London PHV operator. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

2. You must carry out bookings in a London licensed PHV with blank on display, unless it is exempt.

1. a roof sign
2. a fare chart
3. a taxi plate
4. PHV licence discs (correct answer)

Answer: D. PHV licence discs. You must use a London licensed PHV with its licence discs on display, unless it has an exemption. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

3. A person outside your operator's office waves at you and asks for a ride. They have no booking. Can you take them?

1. Yes, because you are outside your operator's office
2. Yes, if they pay the fare in cash before you set off
3. No, they must first book through a licensed operator (correct answer)
4. Yes, if your operator's office is closed for the night

Answer: C. No, they must first book through a licensed operator. A PHV is not a taxi. Without a booking through a licensed operator you cannot pick someone up, even on the street outside your operator's office. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

4. You must not let a passenger get in your vehicle before you have blank.

1. checked their ID
2. agreed a cash price
3. received the booking (correct answer)
4. seen their luggage

Answer: C. received the booking. The booking must come from your operator before any passenger gets into your vehicle. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

5. A person with no booking comes up to you and asks how to get a PHV. What can you give them?

1. A business card with your operator's number (correct answer)
2. A lift to your operator's office
3. A price for the trip, paid to you in cash
4. A seat in your vehicle while you phone it in

Answer: A. A business card with your operator's number. You may hand out a business card with your operator's number, or other contact details such as a website. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

6. You must not make any sign or say anything that suggests you are blank without a booking.

1. available for hire (correct answer)
2. a licensed driver
3. on your way home
4. waiting for someone

Answer: A. available for hire. Without a booking, you must not suggest to the public that you are available for hire. You must not encourage them to approach you either. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

7. A company you have not heard of offers you work. You are not sure it is licensed. What should you do?

1. Ask a passenger if they have used it before
2. Take one booking and see if any problems come
3. Ask for its licence number and use TfL's checker (correct answer)
4. Ask another driver and accept if they say yes

Answer: C. Ask for its licence number and use TfL's checker. Never accept a booking from an unlicensed operator. Ask for the operator's licence number and check it with TfL's online tool. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

8. TfL's online blank shows the details of all licensed private hire drivers, vehicles and operators.

1. journey planner
2. licence checker (correct answer)
3. status updates page
4. fare calculator

Answer: B. licence checker. TfL's licence checker is a public register. You and anyone else can use it. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

9. Who must record the details of a booking before the journey starts?

1. Your operator (correct answer)
2. You, the driver
3. The passenger
4. TfL

Answer: A. Your operator. Your operator must record them. You are not personally responsible for this, but you should know about it. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

10. The operator's booking record must show the agreed fare or blank.

1. the size of the tip
2. the driver's earnings
3. the estimated fare (correct answer)
4. the passenger's address

Answer: C. the estimated fare. The record must include the agreed fare or the estimated fare. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

11. Which of these must your operator record for each booking?

1. The passenger's date of birth
2. The driver's home address
3. The passenger's card number
4. The vehicle's registration or other ID (correct answer)

Answer: D. The vehicle's registration or other ID. The record must identify the vehicle, by its registration number or another way. It must also identify the driver. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

12. TfL has blank to set or control the fares that PHV operators charge.

1. full power
2. some power
3. no power (correct answer)
4. shared power

Answer: C. no power. TfL cannot set or control PHV fares. But customers must understand the fare they will be charged. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

13. Who must agree a fare with the passenger, or give an accurate estimate, before the journey?

1. TfL
2. The operator (correct answer)
3. The driver
4. The vehicle owner

Answer: B. The operator. This is your operator's job, and it must be done before the journey starts. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

14. During a journey, your passenger asks you to pick up a friend. When should you tell your operator?

1. As soon as it is safe (correct answer)
2. At the end of the day
3. At your next renewal
4. Only if they complain

Answer: A. As soon as it is safe. Tell your operator as soon as it is safe, so it can update the fare or the estimate. The same applies to a new destination or extra luggage. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

15. Your passenger says the fare is wrong at the end of the journey. How should you be ready for this?

1. Ask TfL to set a fair price on the phone
2. Lock the doors until you have the money
3. Tell the passenger the trip is now free
4. Check with your operator in advance what to do (correct answer)

Answer: D. Check with your operator in advance what to do. Check with your operator what to do if a passenger disagrees with the fare or cannot pay. Also check how receipts work. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

16. Your operator is licensed at a nightclub. Where can it take bookings?

1. Anywhere on the pavement outside
2. Only at the booking location on its licence (correct answer)
3. In any bar in the same street
4. From drivers parked at the door

Answer: B. Only at the booking location on its licence. An operator at a late-night venue can only take bookings inside the venue, at the location on its licence. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

17. If you approach people outside a late-night venue to offer them a ride, you may be blank.

1. committing an offence (correct answer)
2. doing nothing wrong
3. acting within the rules
4. breaking only a venue rule

Answer: A. committing an offence. This may be an offence and you could be prosecuted. Passengers must book through a licensed London operator. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

18. People leaving a pub come up to your parked PHV and ask for a ride home. What should you do?

1. Take them if you agree a price first
2. Take them if the pub's owner agrees
3. Tell them to book with a licensed operator (correct answer)
4. Take them if it is a very short trip

Answer: C. Tell them to book with a licensed operator. You can only accept a fare booked through a licensed London operator. Tell them to contact one and make a booking. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

19. While you wait near an operating centre, you should not leave your blank running.

1. radio
2. sat nav
3. heater
4. engine (correct answer)

Answer: D. engine. Do not leave your engine running. Think about noise and the people who live in the area. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

20. Who is responsible for the parking, noise and behaviour of a driver waiting near a late-night venue?

1. The venue's owner
2. The driver (correct answer)
3. The door staff
4. The local police

Answer: B. The driver. You are responsible for where you park, for the noise your vehicle makes, and for your own behaviour. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

21. Airports are private property and can make their own rules, called blank.

1. byelaws (correct answer)
2. statutes
3. licences
4. charters

Answer: A. byelaws. Airports can make byelaws about taxis and PHVs. Heathrow has its own, and you should know about them if you get a booking there. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

22. You have no booking yet and want to wait at Heathrow. Where can you wait?

1. A local car park near the airport
2. A quiet residential street nearby
3. An official car park or the PHV Authorised Vehicle Area (correct answer)
4. The airport taxi rank if it is empty

Answer: C. An official car park or the PHV Authorised Vehicle Area. You can enter Heathrow to wait in an official car park or the PHV Authorised Vehicle Area. Do not wait in local car parks or residential streets. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

23. When you pick up passengers at Heathrow Airport, you must always use blank.

1. the taxi rank
2. an official car park (correct answer)
3. a local car park
4. a residential street

Answer: B. an official car park. When picking up at Heathrow, you must always use an official car park. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

24. Your passenger is at Terminal 5 at Heathrow and asks you to use the taxi rank. What is the rule?

1. You may use it to drop off only
2. You may use it if it is not busy
3. You may use it with a booking
4. You must not use it at all (correct answer)

Answer: D. You must not use it at all. Only black cabs may use the ranks at Heathrow and London City Airport. A PHV can't stop or wait there, or use them to pick up or set down. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

25. A journey that starts or ends outside Greater London is allowed if a licensed London operator has blank.

1. told the local council
2. accepted the booking (correct answer)
3. paid an extra fee
4. told TfL first

Answer: B. accepted the booking. The journey is allowed in a London licensed PHV if a licensed London operator accepted the booking. If you are not sure, ask your operator. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

26. You should check your vehicle for lost property after blank.

1. every journey (correct answer)
2. every shift
3. every week
4. every night

Answer: A. every journey. Check after every journey, and remember to check the boot if you put luggage there. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

27. You find a phone on the back seat after a journey. What should you do?

1. Keep it safe at home until someone calls
2. Post it to TfL's lost property office
3. Give it to the next passenger to hand in
4. Tell your operator and take it back to them (correct answer)

Answer: D. Tell your operator and take it back to them. Take lost property to your operator and tell them as soon as you can. The passenger may have already been in touch. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

28. You feel suspicious about an item left unattended in your vehicle. What should you do?

1. Call 999 and follow the instructions (correct answer)
2. Open it and see what is inside
3. Take it to your operator straight away
4. Put it on the pavement and drive away

Answer: A. Call 999 and follow the instructions. If you are suspicious of an unattended item, call the police on 999 immediately and do what they tell you. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

29. You can report suspicious activity to the confidential police anti-terrorist hotline on blank.

1. 0800 555 111
2. 116 123
3. 0800 789 321 (correct answer)
4. 101

Answer: C. 0800 789 321. The confidential anti-terrorist hotline is 0800 789 321. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

30. Something feels wrong about a person's behaviour, but you worry about wasting police time. What does the Handbook say?

1. Report it, and the police will decide if it matters (correct answer)
2. Wait until you have strong evidence first
3. Ask the person to explain what they are doing
4. Tell only your operator and wait for a reply

Answer: A. Report it, and the police will decide if it matters. Do not worry about wasting police time. The police decide if the information is important, and they keep it private. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

31. Your booked passengers have open cans of alcohol, and you do not feel safe. What can you do?

1. Take them but charge a higher fare
2. Refuse politely and explain why (correct answer)
3. Drive off and say nothing to them
4. Refuse and report them to the DVLA

Answer: B. Refuse politely and explain why. You may feel unable to take them in this situation. If you refuse, be polite and explain why, as this could help avoid a complaint. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

32. If you do not carry out a booking, you must tell your operator blank.

1. the full reasons (correct answer)
2. the fare you lost
3. your next location
4. only the passenger's name

Answer: A. the full reasons. Your operator needs to know exactly why the booking wasn't done. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

33. You refused a booking. Who must find another driver, or make clear to the passenger that it is cancelled?

1. You, the driver
2. TfL
3. The passenger
4. The operator (correct answer)

Answer: D. The operator. The operator accepted the booking, so it must arrange another driver or tell the passenger it is cancelled. TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Section 3

34. A driver can ask for an exemption from carrying assistance dogs only on blank grounds.

1. religious
2. cost
3. medical (correct answer)
4. cleaning

Answer: C. medical. You must not refuse a passenger because of a disability or an assistance dog. TfL's current page says a driver can ask for an exemption from carrying these dogs only on medical grounds. TfL, Apply for a private hire driver licence (current page)