park lane to earls court easiest run in the world even if a4 is closed
A London Taxi Driver has to memorise 25,000 streets. An Uber Driver just needs a Phone.
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This sums up everything perfectly:
"Cabbies maintain that nothing is-or will ever be-as good as the Knowledge. But maybe the alternatives don't need to be better, just good enough to get you from A to B."
"Cabbies maintain that nothing is-or will ever be-as good as the Knowledge. But maybe the alternatives don't need to be better, just good enough to get you from A to B."
everything in life gets dumbed down these days. in times gone by an apprentice chippy would be expected to buy his own tools piece by piece, week by week. Stanley made the best block plane, Marples the best chisels, Disston the best panel saws etc etc. he would learn how to sharpen these quality items and they would be with him for decades. nowadays where price is paramount and quality has given over to speed, a chippy's toolbag is full of disposable wicks and B&Q tools. they do the same job and for any imperfections a mixture of filla and a lower expectation will suffice. if the price was right and they turned up without too long a wait the customer will gladly pass them onto friends. the one exception being uncle Albert. a cantankerous old git who likes the old methods and insists on perfection.
are there enough uncle Alberts around to save the black cab? when will the last be bed bound? i saw the mixture of filla and lower expectation sunday night and it involved all 3 emergency services on a very quiet road in west london. i'm honest enough to say it doesn't look good for us professionals and i fully expect to be on another path next year. will i be using Uber to get around? it's as likely as me employing a Polish chippy i guess.
are there enough uncle Alberts around to save the black cab? when will the last be bed bound? i saw the mixture of filla and lower expectation sunday night and it involved all 3 emergency services on a very quiet road in west london. i'm honest enough to say it doesn't look good for us professionals and i fully expect to be on another path next year. will i be using Uber to get around? it's as likely as me employing a Polish chippy i guess.
Well "waze" is better than 320 cabbie runs cus i keep eye on traffic do loads of backstreets , cabbie without sat nav will stay in traffic stay and stay or do u turns and "i know better way" where theres also a traffic and customer paying more and more and more. Technology going further you cant stop it cabieeeeee
Polish chippy? **** yourselfeverything in life gets dumbed down these days. in times gone by an apprentice chippy would be expected to buy his own tools piece by piece, week by week. Stanley made the best block plane, Marples the best chisels, Disston the best panel saws etc etc. he would learn how to sharpen these quality items and they would be with him for decades. nowadays where price is paramount and quality has given over to speed, a chippy's toolbag is full of disposable wicks and B&Q tools. they do the same job and for any imperfections a mixture of filla and a lower expectation will suffice. if the price was right and they turned up without too long a wait the customer will gladly pass them onto friends. the one exception being uncle Albert. a cantankerous old git who likes the old methods and insists on perfection.
are there enough uncle Alberts around to save the black cab? when will the last be bed bound? i saw the mixture of filla and lower expectation sunday night and it involved all 3 emergency services on a very quiet road in west london. i'm honest enough to say it doesn't look good for us professionals and i fully expect to be on another path next year. will i be using Uber to get around? it's as likely as me employing a Polish chippy i guess.
i've resigned myself to it. though if you think the knowledge is about 320 runs you are very much mistaken. they are just a taste of london. i can only remember one run (manor house stn - gibson sq) and nobody has ever asked me to go there.Well "waze" is better than 320 cabbie runs cus i keep eye on traffic do loads of backstreets , cabbie without sat nav will stay in traffic stay and stay or do u turns and "i know better way" where theres also a traffic and customer paying more and more and more. Technology going further you cant stop it cabieeeeee
i added that just for you. was a little disappointed you missed it first time round.Polish chippy? **** yourself
A few weeks ago, I got a ping from Lennox gardens, a woman came up to the driver window, and said, to the national portrait gallery please, just to make sure, I replied, the one in trafalgar sq?, she replied yes, so I start driving, but something is amiss, something is niggling away in my head, but I can't put my finger on it, I carry on driving, coming thru admiralty arch I asked the woman if she wants to be dropped off in Whitcomb St. or charing x road, she said, it's the national portrait gallery, not the national gallery, in that instant I realised what was niggling in my head earlier on, I replied, it doesn't really matter as they are both in the same building and dropped her off on cockspur St.!, and I thought all this for £9, True that minicab drivers need some form of training, but then I think the kol is a bit over the top as well
it is over the top but i honestly can't think of another way to learn london. the problem is the qualification of having the map of london in your head is non transferable. i cannot emigrate to Canada and use this qualification. it's london centric. the only way TFL would allow me to drive a black cab. happily they take new knowledge student's money but do not defend the trade. 'protectionism' is a term that has been used against the taxi trade and one that the trade has been quick to argue against. i would rather justify it and call for more. by signing up and committing time and money for a qualification that can only be used for one thing, the regulating authority surely has an obligation to protect that one thing. if technology has surpassed the qualification then close the books and start the ending process.
as for training minicab drivers, there really is no need.
as for training minicab drivers, there really is no need.
Majority of black cabs I see actually have a sat nav, and use it
Generaly speaking, you cannot compare a marks & sparks suit to a hand stitched one from Saville Row, ideally most prefer the latter, but this is not an ideal world, and More people are choosing to make - do with the former, but if both sides were to make some changes, I think they can co - exist for a longtimeit is over the top but i honestly can't think of another way to learn london. the problem is the qualification of having the map of london in your head is non transferable. i cannot emigrate to Canada and use this qualification. it's london centric. the only way TFL would allow me to drive a black cab. happily they take new knowledge student's money but do not defend the trade. 'protectionism' is a term that has been used against the taxi trade and one that the trade has been quick to argue against. i would rather justify it and call for more. by signing up and committing time and money for a qualification that can only be used for one thing, the regulating authority surely has an obligation to protect that one thing. if technology has surpassed the qualification then close the books and start the ending process.
as for training minicab drivers, there really is no need.
And PI to the 50,000 decimal. Trigonometry is also a pre-req!
When I was driving as minicab (way way back when....) - we had couple of drivers who were 'doing the knowledge' - and advocated that it did help them to make money at same time they were learning for their Hackney Carriage license.
Just my 2c worth.
Just my 2c worth.
Black cab:
"Could tou take my to xxx street in croydon?"
-Sorry i dont know the area
Minicab:
Customer coming inside , driver press navigate:
No problem.
Black cab wont take you anywhere you want unless he have sat nav.
Im nit saying i hate Black cabs i hate KoL or thing like this.
One day i wish to do KoL.
My point is , it's 21 century now people have smartphones, sarnavs and Cabbies have cabbie mate ;-)
"Could tou take my to xxx street in croydon?"
-Sorry i dont know the area
Minicab:
Customer coming inside , driver press navigate:
No problem.
Black cab wont take you anywhere you want unless he have sat nav.
Im nit saying i hate Black cabs i hate KoL or thing like this.
One day i wish to do KoL.
My point is , it's 21 century now people have smartphones, sarnavs and Cabbies have cabbie mate ;-)
when you get your badge the examiners now suggest which sat nav to get. my mate was taken back but the examiner said it's a tool of the trade. that's true. in the old days we all had small a A-Z in handy reach and would pray for a red light to have a quick look. these days if we don't know a road or we're unsure of which turning it is exactly, it's much easier. either a quick look before setting off or a check at lights and you can watch the road for the rest of the journey. for example if a pob asks for claridge court and it's not ringing bells you come back with "sorry don't know that. what's it off?" Munster rd Parsons Green end, they say. a quick scroll on cabbies mate sees it just below Fulham rd and you can get straight there from the city or wherever.
i see loads of cabbies with various devices on their screens but very few seem to be following them. they have less shame than me as mine is constantly on charge under my seat. if a cabbie was following a sat nav in central i would want his badge and bill checked.
last year my cabbies mate froze and no matter how many times i turned it off and on it wouldn't correct itself. it took me a month to get round to dropping it off in Aldwych to have it fixed.
i see loads of cabbies with various devices on their screens but very few seem to be following them. they have less shame than me as mine is constantly on charge under my seat. if a cabbie was following a sat nav in central i would want his badge and bill checked.
last year my cabbies mate froze and no matter how many times i turned it off and on it wouldn't correct itself. it took me a month to get round to dropping it off in Aldwych to have it fixed.
Are you saying Uber drivers dont keep their eyes on the road because of satnav?and you can watch the road for the rest of the journey.
no i was saying taxi drivers do.
Oh ok cool. I thought you were implying that Uber drivers stare at the satnav and dont keep their eye on the road.no i was saying taxi drivers do.
I have seen that too they use cabbi mateMajority of black cabs I see actually have a sat nav, and use it
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