
For London's Cabbies, Job Entails World's Hardest Geography Test - CaptainZapp
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/special-features/2014/08/140808-london-cabbies-knowledge-cabs-hansom-uber-hippocampus-livery
======
rahimnathwani
A few things you may not know if you've never lived in London:

1) London taxis are permitted to use most bus lanes, with or without
passengers. Regular cars or minivans are not, even if they are carrying 5 or 7
passengers. This doesn't encourage efficient use of road space.

2) London taxis are meant to take you wherever you want to go but when I lived
there they would often flout this rule. A friend of mine would deliberately
wait on the Northbound side of the street, so that passing taxi drivers
wouldn't pass him by because they didn't want to go to South London. Only
after he was seated would he tell them his destination, which is when the
25-foot turning circle came in handy.

3) London taxis are exempt from the congestion charge (a large toll zone
within London, with a fixed daily fee of over 18USD). Regular cars must pay,
even though they would typically spend a much smaller proportion of their time
on the road, thereby causing less congestion than taxis which are driving
around all day.

~~~
thaumasiotes
Your point (3) is a little off; the congestion charge might be preventing a
really large number of private cars from driving within the toll zone. If
there are enough private cars, they can cause more congestion overall even
though they individually make small contributions.

~~~
rahimnathwani
My point is that the congestion caused by a single taxi in a day is multiples
of that caused by an average car in a day. So, it's not economically efficient
(i.e. doesn't provide the right incentives) if the taxi pays zero (for driving
around all day), and the regular car pays 11 pounds (for what is usually a
one-time crossing through the zone).

I don't disagree with the principle of the congestion charge. I just think
that the pricing should be such that it incentivises a reduction in
congestion. Mileage-based charging would help with that.

------
baddox
> The five years he has spent on the quest is fairly typical.

> The Uber driver did the run from the newspaper's office in King's Cross to
> Big Ben, in Westminster, in 22 minutes; the cabbie did it in 18, by taking a
> slightly longer route he knew to be quicker.

The apparent extent of London cabbies is undoubtedly impressive, but I'm not
sure the benefits outweigh the benefits of the Uber driver not having to spend
five years studying the roads.

~~~
yardie
You study the roads by driving them everyday. It makes you familiar with
traffic patterns, POI, and small details that a GPS simply won't give you,
(ie. when primary schools let out avoid this route).

I've met some Uber drivers who are using the service as mileage builders until
they are ready to take the tests.

~~~
unfamiliar
Google or Apple maps could easily suggest you "avoid this route when primary
schools out" because they have average traffic speed data and can see that
around those areas at those times traffic moves slowly. They don't have to
know the underlying cause to be effective.

~~~
gambiting
They could,but they don't. Also it would be good if they could predict
traffic, like if there is a game in town or a planned protest, then don't take
certain routes, even though they might be completely empty right now. A good
cabbie will know that, sat nav - not a chance.

~~~
danudey
Google also doesn't know when there's roadwork, and will happily suggest that
you take a street that's going to add 15-25 minutes to your journey, but only
this weekend.

I once had it give me three routes: head down 210th until you're halfway to
your destination, then take a right and drive to 220th, then keep going; head
down to 220th until you're halfway to your destination, then take a left and
drive to 210th, then keep going; or head down to 220th and drive the whole
way.

My wife, who grew up in the area, said 'that's stupid', drove down 210th the
whole way, and got us there faster than we would have otherwise (because we
weren't taking any left turns on busy routes the whole way).

------
patio11
It's a beautifully quirky institution with a lot of character, whose intent
and principle effect is to prevent people from entering into an honest trade
to the advantage of their families and customers.

It is very easy to distinguish between an Uber and a black cab, so if black
cabs are systematically better than the combination of Google and a GPS, the
market will work it out in a few weeks.

~~~
DanBC
> It's a beautifully quirky institution with a lot of character, whose intent
> and principle effect is to prevent people from entering into an honest trade
> to the advantage of their families and customers.

This test is only for people wishing to drive Black cabs. This test does not
exist for drivers other regular taxis in London. Very many taxi companies
exist and people are free to drive for those companies.

Uber wants to operate as a black cab without the protections to the fare
paying passengers that black cabs offer. For example: all black cabs are
wheelchair accessible. Almost no Uber cars are.

I'm not sure how Uber manages to generate so much hype around restrictive
business regulation when there's nothing preventing them operating as licensed
taxis in London. Nothing, that is, apart from their desire to use untested
unregulated uncalibrated software to meter the rides.

~~~
baddox
> Uber wants to operate as a black cab without the protections to the fare
> paying passengers that black cabs offer. For example: all black cabs are
> wheelchair accessible. Almost no Uber cars are.

Wouldn't that only be an issue if the customer was unaware that Uber cars
aren't guaranteed to be accessible? That seems like a peculiar example to use,
because for each customer the worst case scenario would be calling an Uber
once, realizing it's not accessible, then always using the licensed black cabs
from then on.

~~~
frobozz
Black cabs have a monopoly on hailing and taximeters at the cost of certain
regulations. Wheelchair access is one of those regulations. Other obvious ones
include TfL-set fares, and the requirement to accept any fare within a certain
radius.

The latter two regulations are likely to engender a "who cares" response - the
TfL fares are (currently) higher than Uber, and the nature of Uber hailing
means that the vehicle you board will take you to your requested destination.

Uber enables smartphone-based hailing and uncertified taximeters, without
enforcing the other rules. Therefore, all the advantages of both minicabs and
taxis are available to the operator, but without the disadvantages peculiar to
each.

You might say that this workaround is a clever disruption of an established,
outdated business model, but if Uber drives a significant number of cabbies
out of business, then how are independent wheelchair users going to get around
efficiently? Buses are already overcrowded at peak times, and not all
physically disabled people are as agile as Bumper Harris.

------
jdietrich
A lot of detractors miss the fact that the Knowledge is about much more than
just memorising routes.

The Knowledge is a very egalitarian way of hugely increasing the value of a
taxi permit to the holder, creating a strong disincentive against any
behaviour that might jeopardise their license. If you've spent four or five
years working to get your Green Badge, you'll think twice about cheating a
passenger or taking liberties with traffic laws.

The exams ("appearances") are conducted in person, and are deliberately
intended to be highly stressful. Examiners want to see not only that the
candidate knows the routes, but that they can remain calm and courteous under
pressure. By design, the Knowledge is a long and arduous test of character
that happens to impart practical skills.

If your interest has been piqued by this article, there is an excellent
(albeit slightly dated) BBC documentary on the subject:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvFKh_3evC8&list=PL759B26B05...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvFKh_3evC8&list=PL759B26B057F30955)
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b007796l/modern-
times-s...](http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b007796l/modern-times-
streetwise)

It is also worth noting that the iconic black cab is a perfectly designed tool
for the job, not just a kitsch symbol. It is fully wheelchair accessible, has
a durable wipe-clean interior, and is designed with a very tight turning
circle to maximise manoeuvrability in the tight streets of London.

------
oska
There's a fairly decent little film that follows four (fictional) characters
seeking to aquire "The Knowledge".

[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082624/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082624/)

------
Gustomaximus
My anecdote for how well memorized london cabbies are. I used to live on a
small street in central-ish London. See link below. I would regularly catch
cabs from the city home. Out of many trips only once did a cabbie ask me where
the road is. I replied 'Near Holland Rd" and he knew it straight off. This
street was a few hundred meters and had nothing special going for it like
popular shops etc. It never ceased to amaze me that every cabbie knew this
tiny street in all London.

Elsham Rd: [http://bit.ly/ZgyJx6](http://bit.ly/ZgyJx6)

------
davidw
> The Uber driver did the run from the newspaper's office in King's Cross to
> Big Ben, in Westminster, in 22 minutes; the cabbie did it in 18, by taking a
> slightly longer route he knew to be quicker.

A lot of times "disruptive" innovations are initially not as good as what they
compete against, but are "good enough" and better in some other way: cheaper,
smaller, faster, easier to use, or something like that that lets new people
use them.

------
leonk
I've had plenty of incidents where I've had to direct a black cab driver to my
destination (all of which were within zone 2 in London). I assume they weren't
authorised cabbies and were borrowing/renting the cab from someone else. This
was all in the pre-uber era. I guess the cost of taking the knowledge was high
enough to warrant illegally subletting their licensees.

------
personlurking
I wonder if NYC's cabbie test is anywhere near as rigorous (if, in fact, there
is one to speak of), as I can't think of any other taxi-centric city.

~~~
wingerlang
I'd probably add Bangkok to that list. Loads and loads of taxis here.

~~~
peteretep
Who consistently can't find major landmarks; I have occasionally opted for an
Uber in Bangkok when I want a taxi that's going to be hassle free. Back from
the airport, too, as when I get off a long flight, I don't want to be arguing
about whether I'm going to get on the meter or not.

~~~
CaptainZapp

      I don't want to be arguing about whether I'm going to get on the meter or not.
    

That never happened to me, when grabbing a cab at any of the two Bangkok
airports. As a matter of fact the service there works pretty well.

What did happen, though, was that I got into a taxi with a doctored meter.
This could range from a fairly innocuous 20% surcharge (which is still not OK,
to be sure) to meters in cardiac arrest mode, charging about factor 15
(literally).

Within city limits the situation may be different. My experience is that when
you get into a cab, which is parking at one of the more touristy areas they
try to take you for a ride and are rarely willing to engage their meters.

There's usually never a discussion if meter, or not, if you hail a cab on the
street.

This only applies to Bangkok. In other places in Thailand it's practically
impossible to get the driver to engage the meter, even if he's (it's almost
always a he) legally required to do so.

Note to first time visitors: Not engaging the meter and agreeing on a flat fee
is always a bad deal. 5$ may seem cheap to you. But for the same ride you
would have paid 1/3rd of the price with the meter engaged.

~~~
wingerlang
> That never happened to me, when grabbing a cab at any of the two Bangkok
> airports. As a matter of fact the service there works pretty well.

That's because from the airport they charge an extra 50 bath fee so they know
they will get more than enough. Especially since I imagine lots of people go
to the BTS/MRT which is 100 baht give or take + the extra 50.

------
rdl
I far prefer this system to the nyc medallion system. It still underprovisions
taxis, essentially a tax on riders, but gives them a better experience.

------
dangravell
Sorry, completely off topic, but does anyone know a name for this American
style of headline writing "For [subject of the story], [story overview]"?

It's always stuck out to me so I'd like to put a name to it. You don't see
headlines written like this in the UK.

~~~
bshimmin
This is the general grammatical term for that sort of construct:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apposition](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apposition)
The "For" bit does seem somewhat unique to this style of headline, and I don't
know the name (or if there even is a name) for that as a whole.

------
peteretep
Which is why London taxis are so damn expensive, and why UbiCab, Addison Lee,
and Uber provide such an amazing service.

~~~
atmosx
Yeap but if we want to be fair, we either have to pass Uber drivers through
the same procedure or we should lower the barrier for the cabbies.

~~~
DanBC
No we don't. Uber are free to operate without their drivers passing the
knowledge if Uber choses to compete against taxis - pre booked pickups (no
hailing from the side of the road) and pre-arranged prices (not using illegal
unchecked uncalibrated meters).

If Uber wants to use meters they need to comply with the regulations that come
with meters.

~~~
rahimnathwani
_Uber are free to operate without their drivers passing the knowledge if Uber
choses to compete against taxis_

Did you mean 'chooses to compete against minicabs'?

