You all deserve a gold medal for your knowledge of those London streets, and some of the traffic problems you can encounter. Many thanks for this video.
I suppose that you still don't lose practical knowledge because of experience. If a punter wants to get from A to B, you still have a good sense of where to go. In some ways this could be more valuable than simply being able to recall road names, etc., because you can more adeptly visualise routes, and understand nuances and where traffic builds up etc. . A less experienced cabby has to compensate with their more comprehensive knowledge.
It’s almost like auto pilot you just know the way instinctively like the cab is driving itself at times. You start off having an idea of the route but along the way you’ll encounter any manner of problems so generally your route will change and adapt 2/3 times which is why the knowledge is so important having several ways of getting from a to b means we are never flustered in London’s crazy traffic
Never realized how much effort it is for you guys to become a great Taxi driver, the fact that you need to remember all of the things without the use of SatNav is amazing, great video man
I saw a TV program about The Knowledge probably around forty years ago. I was stunned way back then, still can't imagine being able to do these mental gymnastics after only three years!
I don't really have an interest in London or driving even, but your videos are FASCINATING to me. I get lost so easily so this encyclopedic knowledge of London absolutely blows my mind. The level at which your brains work is incredile!
Thank you Tom my dad was a black cab driver sadly not with us any more. I always remember the first run on the knowledge Manor House to Gibson square Keep up the great work on the channel Paul
A great insight into the miracle of human memory that is the Knowledge. 75% of people who start drop out because of your brain can’t do it then it can’t do it. A truly epic commitment to a trade.
Can honestly say I rattled off all those lines fluently and my direction was 👌 your lines change so much from knowledge student to cab driver though. Loved the process and what it brought out of me.
When I visit London I only use black cabs, it’s a treat to use a traditional, truly London experience. Always the best and worth that little extra. Often you can have a good chat too. They also are more highly regulated than their competitors. Never ever use Uber.
Very good point Tom when you said your at your peak when you complete the knowledge. It’s the same when I was in the marines. They actually said while we were in training. We would be at our fittest and in shape while doing basic training. And once you pass out. Your no at e high level you were whilst in training
In my younger days getting black cabs was a luxury and travelled London on the tube. Now I am older and have more readily available money I always get a cab when I can. One day, just one day I am hoping to say "Hey,Tom the Taxi Driver..... I am honoured".
I'm a taxi driver in Tokyo and belong to a recruitment agent company related with taxi industry in Japan. I didn't know that the taxi driver in London needs such a incredible knowledge. Respect from Tokyo.
Mad skillz! For comparison, in aviation there is an imaginary road system in the sky between radio beacons on the ground. In the US, the beacons (intersections) are called VORs or VORTACs and the routes (roads) between them are called Victor Airways. The beacons have three-letter names, the routes between them are labeled with one to three-digit numbers. There are intermediate ‘fixes’ along the routes, marked with five-letter names, where routes intersect or bend. I can assure you that very few pilots would be able to begin to tell you a routing across the country the way you drivers can find your way across London. Admittedly your roads and intersections don’t change as frequently, but there are fewer traffic lights in the sky. ;-)
Got my first ever london black cab last weekend after watching your channel. Keen to see the knowledge in action on a very simple Kings Cross to Garlick Hill. Driver whipped out the London A-Z and had to check it every few mins😩😩😩
Garlick Hill is tiny one can't know everything GC. Either way whilst I know where Garlick Hill is I would have had no idea about the hotel as I haven't been through Garlick Hill in aeons.
When you said that your knowledge had dropped in the years following your test, but on the other hand, when you are driving the cab, you will go down the roads that you missed because you know them. Also, as you drive you will know certain "tricks of the trade, where you might not take "the tightest" route, because you know that it's not the best route. For example, when I used to cycle into the City, the first time I used Oxford Road. It was such a mess because of the buses. I then started using the Marylebone Road, which on the bike I could get through the traffic in the morning. I told my housemate, who had been going on a street adjacent to Oxford Road, and had been held up by the intersections. He acknowledged that the Marylebone Road saved him a few minutes. This is something that only experience will help you with.
I think what sets you aside is how many tidbits of information outside of just streets you know. I've seen tour guides with less knowledge about the actual maps, and cabbies with less misc historical information they knew about certain places. It's risky to think that way, though, because you show what you think are interesting videos, and for all I know the cab driver I asked who wasn't able to tell me much about one place would have had amazing stories to tell about another place. Your ability to pull up information about such a massive area isn't going to be linear. As for knowledge decreasing, it really doesn't. Our brains are always trying to optimize the information we have stored, if you drew a heatmap of the information your brain has stored in the form of a London map it would very likely be close to a heatmap of the traffic density in London, as that's the routes you are most likely to be taking or explicitly avoiding. Your brain skips the details about little individual streets, because that information is rarely actually relevant. You just end up having all the key points memorized, and that with an absurd superhuman understanding of London traffic and the street design for each borough means you can very confidently make your way through without needing every little detail about every little street.
I've been in London previously. I'm going to be there next April at least, this gives me shivers. Is it really this hard? As a tourist, I want just that everything works, there are children involved.
Love your honesty Tom, its true hard to keep up with the constant changes to roads they make to 3 lanes to 1 ie: park lane in places, or or like Tottenham Court Rd, but its the little constant rat runs they close all the time that messes you up
Another great video Tom. I will be starting back my mock appearances soon at the school helping the students. It would be great to meet up sometime have a coffee ☕️.
Tom man…. I’m in London all day everyday as a skip lorry driver; constantly on the look out for you so if you see a red skip lorry driver shouting at you… don’t be alarmed 😂
It's said.... it takes at least 10,000 hours to achieve excellence in any field. Thank you Tom for these insights, absolutely fascinating. Stay well and safe. Hello from N2 : - )
you need to perfect the knowledge to show you´ve learnt it. The roads you missed was because you kinda go on auto pilot. Had you driven that in the cab you would not have got to Gower Street and had to stop as you know the way without thinking, If that makes sense.
@@TomtheTaxiDriverhi so im a newbie and wanted to know if in the exams they ask you random points? Or is it only ones from the runs. If both at what point does random one get asked please?
You say u lose some of the knowledge but u actually dont. Ok you might not be able to be as spot on as when remembering in a room but u will remember as u drive as ur mind will get triggers then goes n gets the memory from ir sub consonance as ue brain would of moved it there to clear up space for stuff u need in the hear and now. If that makes sense
Thanks Tom for this video. I dont intend to learn the map however I find myself learning street names from watching your example. Do cabbies get anything on top for running adverts on their taxi?
I'm three minutes into this video and already thinking you guys are aliens. I can't even name most of the few streets within 25 yds of where I've lived for 15 years 😂
Do Cabbies ever have to renew their knowledge? Like if a driver has been driving for say 15 years and only operating in one particular area would they need to go back a redo any sort of test?
Any London taxi driver applying to renew their cab driving licence more than three months after the expiry of the preceding licence will be treated as a new applicant, licenses last for three years by the way. This may require the driver to obtain a new medical examination and fulfil the new driver application requirements. There is also a possibility if the renewal is later than that there might be a possibility of going through a scaled down version of the Knowledge. Also there are two types of taxi licenses, the green badge "all London" license which includes the central area and all suburban area's (what you see above) and the yellow "suburban" only license. The Green badge is therefore the whole of London and the yellow badge covers one or more sectors of the suburban area's of London. There are nine suburban sectors and you can go for one sector or more. These drivers can only pick up within their sector(s) but can drop anywhere. But unless it's a pre-booked pick up they cannot ply for hire outside of those defined suburban sectors or sector and none can ply for hire in the defined central area which is roughly a six mile radius of Charing Cross. On the top left hand side of the windscreen and on rear left back window taxis will have identifiers which must be displayed if the driver is working. They will either be, unsurprisingly, green or yellow with the taxi drivers badge number printed on it in black. Some students do the yellow badge knowledge first wait a while whilst driving as a suburban driver and then they might migrate over and do the full knowledge. As a suburban driver you have to have a more intimate knowledge of you suburban area(s) than if you were to do the green badge knowledge first. If you were required to know absolutely e-v-e-r-y turning and e-v-e-r-y place of interest in London there simply wouldn't be any London taxi drivers.... evah as it would take for-evah.... In fact you would die beforehand and still not know it all given the new roads and new areas and hotels plus existing hotels renamed which is an ongoing thing in any major city.... Phew.
Whilst Leigh called a great "run" there is no way one would drive via all those turnings in the west end area as you would be stuck in awful traffic. As you intimated Tom calling over a "run" and actually driving that journey are two different things.
Amazing but I feel for the amount of effort and memory you need you would be better off putting efforts into something else that pays more and more rewarding then just a taxi driver. Especially if you are commuted and dedicated to study like this
My relative is pestering me to do this. But honestly it's so much work. 320 runs to memorise is ridiculous. The pay isn't enough for the time and effort you have put in. Its only 35-40k after costs. But it has its benifits like you work when you want. Self employed that's what I like. But to be honest it's easier memorising interview answers for jobs and you shouldnt have no problem getting same pay. But it's what you value. Working for someone or working for yourself. I prefer working for myself. But you can also create your own business with less effort. But you need money. I reckon they need to make it easier. People putting in 3 years minimum, not even maximum sacrificing time, family for only 35k. Pay needs to double after costs. And it should take maximum 2 years. Yes I know it depends on the person and how much they put in. But it's alot you have to put in already for target of 3 years. I'd say they should half the runs.
Hard bit isn’t the runs… that’s the easy bit you can get that done in 6 months. Issue with starting a business is that there’s no guarantee of success. Study The Knowledge, can’t fail only give up.
@@TomtheTaxiDriverI have memorised 2 runs, but when I memorise the next, the previous ones dissappear or get combined 😂 so frustrating. Thanks. Which part is the hard part may I ask?
train driver here, ya cant get this job by knowing people, trust me, and we also lose a bit of skill after we pass out. so no, taxi driver isn't the only job for that you're not unique!
Is this really necessary these days? I know the British are very fond of holding onto traditional ways but with sat navs now I'd question the reasons for holding onto this exam as impressive as it is when you see someone doing it well.
This feels a bit weird. I spent 37 years as a London Green Badge driver, retiring and leaving London 8 years ago. When I woke up this morning , in my quiet countryside home in the Cotswolds, for some unknown reason I was calling over a route in my head. One that I drove many thousands of times in real life without having to give the route a thought, yet I couldn’t ‘see’ a particular junction on the way. Like Homer Simpson in the cartoon series, when you put new stuff into your brain you have to push something else out - despite the huge hippocampus that London ‘black’ cab drivers develop !
Black cabs can use bus lanes which a sat nav doesn't know about. Sat navs also don't know which roads have been temporarily closed or have heavy traffic depending on the time of day. A sat nav for a taxi in London would be useless.
In few years time all taxi Uber etc will be obsolete due to automatic electric services. Look at Milton Keys. All this Knowledge may make a few people feel better about themselves but is pointless in long run.
i would have thought your knowledge should improve as time went on as a working taxi driver rather than diminishing because you're constantly practising every day. if you didnt use the knowledge for a few years i could see it drying up but i'd have thought a cabbie with 20 years on the London roads would have more knowledge than a newly-qualified driver. shows what i know!
Always amazes me that people actually spend three years with learning something so utterly unnecessary and useless. After three years you may have a knowledge almost as good as the cheapest nav computer had ten years ago. Congratulations. It used to make sense, but these days this whole thing is useless. I wonder how much time the brits need to recognise this... On top of the optimal route finding, modern cloud-based planning tools have live feedback from the roads so they can react to accidents, lane closures, motorcades, faulty traffic lights, etc. etc. Can a driver do that even after chillion years of memorizing static data?
@@TomtheTaxiDriver And you would have missed that no entry too, based on your historical knowledge. Nothing/nobody is perfect. But an opposite example of Google map performance: Once I saw google maps jumping back and forth between two equally good routes and I did not know why. It came to light, that it sensed the traffic light sequence based on the vehicle speeds and it alternated between the two routes depending on where the light was green at the moment. Amazing, though admittedly an overkill.
sat navs send the likes of uber up one way streets every day. I have lost count how many times you have to tell them to turn around or you see them in accidents . sat navs take you the longest way aswell , I see it on the app jobs you get and the route it trys to take you . sat navs get you to a to b but not in the quickest time and not the safest way, sending you up one way streets.
@@TomtheTaxiDriver Sure, technology isn't always perfect and don't get me wrong - I applaud anyone with the drive and determination to go for and pass a hard exam, its just that lately the financial incentive seems to be missing.
You all deserve a gold medal for your knowledge of those London streets, and some of the traffic problems you can encounter. Many thanks for this video.
Funny thing is, black cabbies actually do have a gold medal around them at all times. So they can remind themselves of their achievements.
I suppose that you still don't lose practical knowledge because of experience. If a punter wants to get from A to B, you still have a good sense of where to go. In some ways this could be more valuable than simply being able to recall road names, etc., because you can more adeptly visualise routes, and understand nuances and where traffic builds up etc. . A less experienced cabby has to compensate with their more comprehensive knowledge.
It’s almost like auto pilot you just know the way instinctively like the cab is driving itself at times. You start off having an idea of the route but along the way you’ll encounter any manner of problems so generally your route will change and adapt 2/3 times which is why the knowledge is so important having several ways of getting from a to b means we are never flustered in London’s crazy traffic
practice and repetitions will drill certain things into your mind over time
Black cabbies use gps after passing they don’t care about the knowledge
Never realized how much effort it is for you guys to become a great Taxi driver, the fact that you need to remember all of the things without the use of SatNav is amazing, great video man
I saw a TV program about The Knowledge probably around forty years ago. I was stunned way back then, still can't imagine being able to do these mental gymnastics after only three years!
I don't really have an interest in London or driving even, but your videos are FASCINATING to me. I get lost so easily so this encyclopedic knowledge of London absolutely blows my mind. The level at which your brains work is incredile!
Hearing the list of streets is like listening to an urban shipping forecast. I'd happily fall asleep listening to this.
Thank you Tom my dad was a black cab driver sadly not with us any more. I always remember the first run on the knowledge Manor House to Gibson square
Keep up the great work on the channel
Paul
"Manor House to Gibson Square, you gotta be joking"
A great insight into the miracle of human memory that is the Knowledge. 75% of people who start drop out because of your brain can’t do it then it can’t do it. A truly epic commitment to a trade.
Brilliant insight into the knowledge, Tom’s videos are the best you will find on UA-cam for anything black cab related .
Can honestly say I rattled off all those lines fluently and my direction was 👌 your lines change so much from knowledge student to cab driver though. Loved the process and what it brought out of me.
When I visit London I only use black cabs, it’s a treat to use a traditional, truly London experience. Always the best and worth that little extra. Often you can have a good chat too. They also are more highly regulated than their competitors. Never ever use Uber.
Very good point Tom when you said your at your peak when you complete the knowledge. It’s the same when I was in the marines. They actually said while we were in training. We would be at our fittest and in shape while doing basic training. And once you pass out. Your no at e high level you were whilst in training
Very much so! I guess many qualifications are just a standard. Akin to a doctor and medical school also!
Wow! These guys are on another level
Great Tom and real pleasure to be involved mate 👍
In my younger days getting black cabs was a luxury and travelled London on the tube. Now I am older and have more readily available money I always get a cab when I can.
One day, just one day I am hoping to say "Hey,Tom the Taxi Driver..... I am honoured".
I'm a taxi driver in Tokyo and belong to a recruitment agent company related with taxi industry in Japan.
I didn't know that the taxi driver in London needs such a incredible knowledge.
Respect from Tokyo.
Mad skillz! For comparison, in aviation there is an imaginary road system in the sky between radio beacons on the ground. In the US, the beacons (intersections) are called VORs or VORTACs and the routes (roads) between them are called Victor Airways. The beacons have three-letter names, the routes between them are labeled with one to three-digit numbers. There are intermediate ‘fixes’ along the routes, marked with five-letter names, where routes intersect or bend. I can assure you that very few pilots would be able to begin to tell you a routing across the country the way you drivers can find your way across London. Admittedly your roads and intersections don’t change as frequently, but there are fewer traffic lights in the sky. ;-)
Theres a reaon why ATC has a high failure rate for new candidates. Something like 80% of each intake will fail.
Oh and there is nothibg worse than waiting on ramp for a gap to appear in said road haha
Just started the knowledge me self so all these videos are brilliant
Got my first ever london black cab last weekend after watching your channel. Keen to see the knowledge in action on a very simple Kings Cross to Garlick Hill. Driver whipped out the London A-Z and had to check it every few mins😩😩😩
You should of helped the cabbie out and told him you needed to go to Mansion House Station, he would have been able to do that.
@@salmankayani6212 i didn’t want to go to mansion house, I wanted the Vintry and Mercer hotel on Garlick Hill
Garlick Hill is tiny one can't know everything GC. Either way whilst I know where Garlick Hill is I would have had no idea about the hotel as I haven't been through Garlick Hill in aeons.
That sounds bs! Really?! How did they not know that?
@@Quincycle i shit you not 😔
When you said that your knowledge had dropped in the years following your test, but on the other hand, when you are driving the cab, you will go down the roads that you missed because you know them. Also, as you drive you will know certain "tricks of the trade, where you might not take "the tightest" route, because you know that it's not the best route. For example, when I used to cycle into the City, the first time I used Oxford Road. It was such a mess because of the buses. I then started using the Marylebone Road, which on the bike I could get through the traffic in the morning. I told my housemate, who had been going on a street adjacent to Oxford Road, and had been held up by the intersections. He acknowledged that the Marylebone Road saved him a few minutes. This is something that only experience will help you with.
I think what sets you aside is how many tidbits of information outside of just streets you know. I've seen tour guides with less knowledge about the actual maps, and cabbies with less misc historical information they knew about certain places.
It's risky to think that way, though, because you show what you think are interesting videos, and for all I know the cab driver I asked who wasn't able to tell me much about one place would have had amazing stories to tell about another place. Your ability to pull up information about such a massive area isn't going to be linear.
As for knowledge decreasing, it really doesn't. Our brains are always trying to optimize the information we have stored, if you drew a heatmap of the information your brain has stored in the form of a London map it would very likely be close to a heatmap of the traffic density in London, as that's the routes you are most likely to be taking or explicitly avoiding. Your brain skips the details about little individual streets, because that information is rarely actually relevant. You just end up having all the key points memorized, and that with an absurd superhuman understanding of London traffic and the street design for each borough means you can very confidently make your way through without needing every little detail about every little street.
Good for you Tom that you showed us a run with you making mistakes. Be very easy not to have done that. ✅️
It is amazing!!! It must be a hell of a lot of dedication
I've been in London previously. I'm going to be there next April at least, this gives me shivers. Is it really this hard? As a tourist, I want just that everything works, there are children involved.
Knowledge is power 💪🏾
Love your honesty Tom, its true hard to keep up with the constant changes to roads they make to 3 lanes to 1 ie: park lane in places, or or like Tottenham Court Rd, but its the little constant rat runs they close all the time that messes you up
My brother took that course in 2014. Took him 9 years to pass it
Love this tom! interesting to see how this happens!
Hi tom thanks for another good video just got in door’s from a difficult morning at baker st.
Another great video Tom.
I will be starting back my mock appearances soon at the school helping the students. It would be great to meet up sometime have a coffee ☕️.
My final req run was actually Manor House to Gibson square.once examiner told me that on my 4th run I virtually collapsed
Tom man…. I’m in London all day everyday as a skip lorry driver; constantly on the look out for you so if you see a red skip lorry driver shouting at you… don’t be alarmed 😂
Video idea. Try and draw the map of London to your recollection and see how well you do.
You taxi drivers have skills
Great video Tom 👍🏼
Best Taxi Drivers in the World 👍
Wow what a memory very impressive!
Please tell me they call it the Hackney Handshake!
I love you vids mate , but this one brings back nightmares 😂😂😂
The week of an appearance was not fun 😂😂😂
It's said.... it takes at least 10,000 hours to achieve excellence in any field. Thank you Tom for these insights, absolutely fascinating. Stay well and safe. Hello from N2 : - )
It's like a computer program...You download the app and then keep updating it.
What does "comply by" mean?
Leigh is amazing!!!
No. You ALL are amazing! Great work you did with Harry. Respect to you Tom
Comply w
Comply with a one way system.
You comply with a roundabout or junction and leave by a street
Knowledge is power 🧠
Lanndon in the Yuuu Kaaaaaaay have the best taxi drivers on the planet that's for sure!
Great video Tom! Which is the best knowledge school in London atm? Thank you.
Interesting video which kind of highlights how the system is as flawed as it is good.
you need to perfect the knowledge to show you´ve learnt it. The roads you missed was because you kinda go on auto pilot. Had you driven that in the cab you would not have got to Gower Street and had to stop as you know the way without thinking, If that makes sense.
Would really like to know when Leigh passes her exam.
If she passes her next 2, Leigh will be qualified 🙌🏻
@@TomtheTaxiDriver did she pass?
@@TomtheTaxiDriverhi so im a newbie and wanted to know if in the exams they ask you random points? Or is it only ones from the runs. If both at what point does random one get asked please?
Great insight to the level of knowledge you guys have! Makes me want to get black cabs!
I wont take an uber again, these lads and ladies deserve our cash.
You say u lose some of the knowledge but u actually dont. Ok you might not be able to be as spot on as when remembering in a room but u will remember as u drive as ur mind will get triggers then goes n gets the memory from ir sub consonance as ue brain would of moved it there to clear up space for stuff u need in the hear and now. If that makes sense
How do you live ? Part time job ? No body mentions living
Is it worth the money 💰
I'm missing something. All this in the age of GPS and Uber?
Clearly you are, yes
Thanks Tom for this video. I dont intend to learn the map however I find myself learning street names from watching your example.
Do cabbies get anything on top for running adverts on their taxi?
Fun fact. Tom used to be a professional magician!
But if u dunno those roads anymore how u get client on place o' destination?
I'm three minutes into this video and already thinking you guys are aliens. I can't even name most of the few streets within 25 yds of where I've lived for 15 years 😂
Are there any other cities in the world that require a version of the knowledge?
Do Cabbies ever have to renew their knowledge? Like if a driver has been driving for say 15 years and only operating in one particular area would they need to go back a redo any sort of test?
Any London taxi driver applying to renew their cab driving licence more than three months after the expiry of the preceding licence will be treated as a new applicant, licenses last for three years by the way. This may require the driver to obtain a new medical examination and fulfil the new driver application requirements. There is also a possibility if the renewal is later than that there might be a possibility of going through a scaled down version of the Knowledge. Also there are two types of taxi licenses, the green badge "all London" license which includes the central area and all suburban area's (what you see above) and the yellow "suburban" only license.
The Green badge is therefore the whole of London and the yellow badge covers one or more sectors of the suburban area's of London. There are nine suburban sectors and you can go for one sector or more. These drivers can only pick up within their sector(s) but can drop anywhere. But unless it's a pre-booked pick up they cannot ply for hire outside of those defined suburban sectors or sector and none can ply for hire in the defined central area which is roughly a six mile radius of Charing Cross. On the top left hand side of the windscreen and on rear left back window taxis will have identifiers which must be displayed if the driver is working. They will either be, unsurprisingly, green or yellow with the taxi drivers badge number printed on it in black. Some students do the yellow badge knowledge first wait a while whilst driving as a suburban driver and then they might migrate over and do the full knowledge. As a suburban driver you have to have a more intimate knowledge of you suburban area(s) than if you were to do the green badge knowledge first. If you were required to know absolutely e-v-e-r-y turning and e-v-e-r-y place of interest in London there simply wouldn't be any London taxi drivers.... evah as it would take for-evah.... In fact you would die beforehand and still not know it all given the new roads and new areas and hotels plus existing hotels renamed which is an ongoing thing in any major city.... Phew.
I thought you all used satnavs not memories
How is it simply possible to know all streets of London?
Whilst Leigh called a great "run" there is no way one would drive via all those turnings in the west end area as you would be stuck in awful traffic. As you intimated Tom calling over a "run" and actually driving that journey are two different things.
do you have your knowledge school ? i want to learn from you
WizAnn
Amazing 👏
Thanks 😄
Amazing but I feel for the amount of effort and memory you need you would be better off putting efforts into something else that pays more and more rewarding then just a taxi driver. Especially if you are commuted and dedicated to study like this
Great video :)
My relative is pestering me to do this. But honestly it's so much work. 320 runs to memorise is ridiculous. The pay isn't enough for the time and effort you have put in. Its only 35-40k after costs. But it has its benifits like you work when you want. Self employed that's what I like. But to be honest it's easier memorising interview answers for jobs and you shouldnt have no problem getting same pay. But it's what you value. Working for someone or working for yourself. I prefer working for myself. But you can also create your own business with less effort. But you need money. I reckon they need to make it easier. People putting in 3 years minimum, not even maximum sacrificing time, family for only 35k. Pay needs to double after costs. And it should take maximum 2 years. Yes I know it depends on the person and how much they put in. But it's alot you have to put in already for target of 3 years. I'd say they should half the runs.
Hard bit isn’t the runs… that’s the easy bit you can get that done in 6 months.
Issue with starting a business is that there’s no guarantee of success. Study The Knowledge, can’t fail only give up.
@@TomtheTaxiDriverI have memorised 2 runs, but when I memorise the next, the previous ones dissappear or get combined 😂 so frustrating. Thanks. Which part is the hard part may I ask?
Why do cabbies not use a sat nav like Uber drivers ?
See this video ua-cam.com/video/azjdJeIiyEM/v-deo.html
+3 years studying omg, insane
I will visit London soon. It Would be very cool to be your client.
train driver here, ya cant get this job by knowing people, trust me, and we also lose a bit of skill after we pass out. so no, taxi driver isn't the only job for that you're not unique!
Doctor also
Is this really necessary these days? I know the British are very fond of holding onto traditional ways but with sat navs now I'd question the reasons for holding onto this exam as impressive as it is when you see someone doing it well.
Check out my video why I never use a sat nav as to reasons why
Meanwhile i literally don’t know what the street i can see out my window is called (the one behind the house, obviously i know my address)
This feels a bit weird. I spent 37 years as a London Green Badge driver, retiring and leaving London 8 years ago. When I woke up this morning , in my quiet countryside home in the Cotswolds, for some unknown reason I was calling over a route in my head. One that I drove many thousands of times in real life without having to give the route a thought, yet I couldn’t ‘see’ a particular junction on the way. Like Homer Simpson in the cartoon series, when you put new stuff into your brain you have to push something else out - despite the huge hippocampus that London ‘black’ cab drivers develop !
I can imagine in just a few years you'll be able to just download the map into your brain in a few seconds..
Can Black cab drivers just not use a sat nav?
You can but here’s a whole load reasons why I don’t;
ua-cam.com/video/azjdJeIiyEM/v-deo.html
I don’t get why you can’t just use a day nav though?
Black cabs can use bus lanes which a sat nav doesn't know about. Sat navs also don't know which roads have been temporarily closed or have heavy traffic depending on the time of day. A sat nav for a taxi in London would be useless.
@@k7450 Ahhh sounding a bit too obvious now. Haha thank you buddy
The knowledge should be termed as university degree
How the h...does she knows map by heart?
Tom
Tut tut. I counted 7 mistakes you made... :P
I don't understand how anyone can memorize so many road names omfg
wait… all london taxi driver!? including those one not driving in a typical black cab?
In few years time all taxi Uber etc will be obsolete due to automatic electric services. Look at Milton Keys. All this Knowledge may make a few people feel better about themselves but is pointless in long run.
Nice bit of blasphemy from the guy who just got his req.
Useless time waste in the era of gps. Y'all need to get with the times
i would have thought your knowledge should improve as time went on as a working taxi driver rather than diminishing because you're constantly practising every day. if you didnt use the knowledge for a few years i could see it drying up but i'd have thought a cabbie with 20 years on the London roads would have more knowledge than a newly-qualified driver. shows what i know!
Call an UBER!!!.. It works and changed the face of taxing..with that and the advent of Sat Nav...is there a point in taking years to pass this test?
Unbelievable
believe it mister. will u marry me
Always amazes me that people actually spend three years with learning something so utterly unnecessary and useless. After three years you may have a knowledge almost as good as the cheapest nav computer had ten years ago. Congratulations. It used to make sense, but these days this whole thing is useless. I wonder how much time the brits need to recognise this... On top of the optimal route finding, modern cloud-based planning tools have live feedback from the roads so they can react to accidents, lane closures, motorcades, faulty traffic lights, etc. etc. Can a driver do that even after chillion years of memorizing static data?
Haven’t seen any gps that can react to the things you have stated. Yesterday Google tried taking me through a no entry that’s been up for months!
@@TomtheTaxiDriver And you would have missed that no entry too, based on your historical knowledge. Nothing/nobody is perfect. But an opposite example of Google map performance: Once I saw google maps jumping back and forth between two equally good routes and I did not know why. It came to light, that it sensed the traffic light sequence based on the vehicle speeds and it alternated between the two routes depending on where the light was green at the moment. Amazing, though admittedly an overkill.
sat navs send the likes of uber up one way streets every day. I have lost count how many times you have to tell them to turn around or you see them in accidents . sat navs take you the longest way aswell , I see it on the app jobs you get and the route it trys to take you . sat navs get you to a to b but not in the quickest time and not the safest way, sending you up one way streets.
Your comment is so dumb, Attila, you should genuinely be embarrassed about it.
Say what you like , but this job has given me a good living which is not easy to get elsewhere for me. So that's what matters to me the most
Black cabbies use gps after passing they don’t care about the knowledge
just drive uber - you will not waste 3 years of your life learning what your sat nav already knows.
Sat nav told me to turn right yesterday on junction of Farringdon Road and Clerkenwell road. It's forward only both directions... Good things sat nav!
@@TomtheTaxiDriver Sure, technology isn't always perfect and don't get me wrong - I applaud anyone with the drive and determination to go for and pass a hard exam, its just that lately the financial incentive seems to be missing.
What bull. Do a degree doesn’t require much crap
Old hat the job will be finished in a few years
Because you still want cash
Nope, every London taxi gladly accepts card
Always been a few years for how long now ?
Will never die!!!
Apparently the game was dead in the 90s
Mind you and the 80s and 70s 🤪