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Before They Can Drive a Taxi, London's Cabbies Have To Commit the City To Memory in a Rigorous Test Called the Knowledge (cnet.com)
In their fight against Uber, London's taxi drivers claim a distinct advantage: They must forgo GPS and navigate the huge city entirely from memory. CNET: Put in place in 1865, the Knowledge exam requires cabbies to navigate between any two points in central London without following a map or GPS. It can take four years to learn the information and pass a series of stringent oral tests. It's a grueling process unmatched by any training taxi drivers have to face anywhere else, and it's the most arduous thing Pearson's [Editor's note: a driver; used as anecdote in the story] ever done. "My uncle was a cab driver and he encouraged me to give it a go," he said. "But I still didn't realize how hard it would be."
Despite the difficulty of mastering it, cabbies proudly defend the Knowledge as a critical part of their job, something technology can't replace. They say it sets them apart from ride-hailing services like Uber, whose drivers don't have to learn the Knowledge, and they believe it allows them to deliver a superior level of service. But ever since mapping apps arrived on phones and GPS-wielding Uber drivers exploded into London in 2012, the Knowledge has faced a volatile future. Should cabbies have to spend years of their life memorizing every inch of London when they can simply punch in a destination on a screen and be guided? Absolutely, say the drivers I spoke with.
Despite the difficulty of mastering it, cabbies proudly defend the Knowledge as a critical part of their job, something technology can't replace. They say it sets them apart from ride-hailing services like Uber, whose drivers don't have to learn the Knowledge, and they believe it allows them to deliver a superior level of service. But ever since mapping apps arrived on phones and GPS-wielding Uber drivers exploded into London in 2012, the Knowledge has faced a volatile future. Should cabbies have to spend years of their life memorizing every inch of London when they can simply punch in a destination on a screen and be guided? Absolutely, say the drivers I spoke with.
...will be used for good?
only useful for helping a customer? it would never be used to stretch a ride out to bump up the fare a bit, no?
just having the knowledge guarantees nothing.... a tool can cut both ways
Driving while looking at a GPS is clearly more dangerous than driving without looking at a screen of some kind. I prefer to take taxis because they tend to know where they're going more than the fake-taxi people (Uber, Lyft).
I don't respond to AC's.
Autonomous vehicles will have no problem passing the Knowledge.
This problem will solve itself within a decade.
Check your premises.
When there is a traffic jam and navigation programs stop being useful when the traffic feedback they receive from sensors start to be garbage, but that is it
My son is a Fireman and 10 years ago decided he wanted to drive the truck. He had to be able to drive to any address in the city without using a map or navigation app. He spent a lot of time staring at the big map mounted on the wall.
You'd have to be delusional to think this is an advantage. A human navigator can't see ahead for optimizing against current traffic patterns as can GPS. Plus, imagine all the other things they could have done with their time and effort besides memorizing obsolete information. No wonder this stupid crony industry is going bankrupt.
I was in London last year, and used Uber extensively. Most of the time it worked out fine, but there were a few spectacular failures. In particular, a ride to Kensington Palace dropped us off at a point that was more than a half hour's walk from the Palace. As we walked, we passed an intersection that was only a few hundred yards from the Palace entrance. I'm pretty sure a real cab driver would have dropped us at the closest point.
If it were my livelyhood and I already put in the effort, I'd see that as an excellent way to keep out competitors. But you'd be batshit insane to actually _want_ to learn all that crap if you were just starting out, considering how much the city has grown since 1865, and how easy GPS (possibly with live updates on road conditions) makes things nowadays...
There was a documentary about this on TV, not sure what channel, but I saw it just a few days ago, about how the size of the actually grew on those learning to sharpen their memory like this. Scans where taken before and after, and the results where quite astonishing.
I kinda believe it too, I got a job at a huge corporation, where I was set to do an almost seemingly impossible task - namely learn 25K pages of information about their infrastructure so I could properly map and redirect requests to where it was needed + solve IT solution tasks on the spot if possible instead of redirecting, the answer where all in these 25K pages. At first it was like, I'm never ever gonna be able to do this, after a month I was - I can't believe I can actually remember this much, now I actually believe it can be done, I still have to console the 25K pages manual - but it's rarer and rarer, and my problem solving rate is up to 96% correct now.
What's even more interesting, is that this job has had a profound effect on my private life as well. I've done much more to clean up my life, making sure important things like personal pension, insurance, savings, purchases are done correctly instead of wasting it on "oh, I don't care". My gaming life is amazing in comparison to before, I've reached levels I couldn't even dream of later.
So there's something to this!
What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
Anyone who's ever used a London cabby will value the brevity of the journey when you ask for a recommended hotel near a certain landmark/street, or if you're in a rush to get to a meeting in an obscure area and there's a traffic jam on the normal route. It's shocking how little local knowledge can be required elsewhere.
This has been the case since 1865.
Driver: Well, first you take a right on...
Sherlock: Wrong, next.
Care killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.
Except for the fact that GPS apps show us current status on traffic jams and accident sites. Committing directions to memory doesn't really help in this way. So, I don't know that I'd call this an, "advantage".
The black cab is the benchmark to beat here in london.
"The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
Well, in this case the depth of knowledge is not a safety issue, as it might be in someone's fireman example above. At most, it provides customers with a sense of confidence that their driver knows where they're going -- which some people value more, some people less.
I would say, let customers decide whether this knowledge is worth it by giving them the choice. Otherwise, it's a barrier to entry to a restricted group of drivers so that they enjoy a monopoly and the power to price their taxi services accordingly.
Your average Yellow cab driver never looks clean or particularly healthy.
Neither do neckbeard programmers, yet we're supposed to entrust our lives and finances to them writing software.
Teacher: Are you telling me you memorized that fact when anyone with a cell phone can find it out in 30 seconds?
Martin Prince: I-I I've crammed my head full of garbage!
Teacher: Yes, you have.
#DeleteFacebook
I've done a fair amount of field work. GPS has always failed my when I needed it the most. Either non-existent routes, or unable to calibrate due too poor hits from satellites. Any place where the signal is blocked. This is why I always have a map back up and when in the field a compass as well.
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
Not quite, because the summary didn't have this "black cab drivers" trick for those unfamiliar with London, causing a brief impression that something racist was going on. He added some brilliant confusion. It was master-quality misdirection and the least we could do is applaud.
"Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
There's the notion that passing the test signals an ability roughly correlated with character and intelligence that provides a first pass filter for applicants. Whether greater emphasis on this notion is still worth the premium is certainly debatable.
Do you want the whole world to know your spending habits? Who you associate with? Etc. If you use Uber/Lyft etc. and the surveillance state will love you.
Scenario: you stop off at a restaurant to pick up some take out. 15 minutes after you leave a bomb goes off. Of course if you did nothing wrong you have nothing wrong to worry about. Right?
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
Yes,it might be nice to be able to say "that chineese restaurant next to the flowershop across the church" and have the cabby jnow where it is, but in all my life I had an address when I took a taxi.
What I like is the cars themselves, made specially as a taxi, not just a car where you sit inthe back. Much easier to get in and out of. THAT is service I like to pay for. Bit like first and second class in a plane.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
Last time I rode a cab the guy seemed to have no knowledge of the city whatsoever and I had to give him specific directions the entire way down to what lanes to drive in. He basically used me as his GPS.
....its... The Knowledge
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It's a grueling process unmatched by any training taxi drivers have to face anywhere else, ...
It id the same in every european city I know about
OTOH London is particular big.
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
In any other job, you have to carry the qualifications of that job. If I'm a software developer, I have to know and understand the languages which I work with, in great detail, if I don't, then I'm really just a script kiddy, taking code off stack overflow. Why would or should the taxi industry be any different?
They're also surprisingly manoeuvrable, able to take passengers in wheelchairs, spacious enough for significant amounts of luggage, etc.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
Of course anyone is going to claim they are absolutely indispensable when their livelihood is challenged. In the early 20th century, white-only unions lobbied for a minimum wage to shut out black construction workers who were willing to underbid the prevailing union wage.
The Knowledge was obviously a great idea in the London of 1865, when the only way to be a cabdriving professional wa to know every inch of the city. It's also great for screwing the passenger in more or less subtle ways. Given an intimate knowledge of city streets, you "take the passenger for a ride" without making even a long-term resident aware that this is what you're doing.
The psychology behind The Knowledge is exactly what kept Morse code in use as a hazing mechanism in ham radio for years after it had lost its operational usefulness. If I had to spend years learning The Knowledge or pounding a telegraph key, I'm going to make the young pups go through the same rite of passage.
Not only is GPS better at finding the way in today's expanded and changing city, but a ride service based on having drivers follow a GPS-computed route is fundamentally more honest. A displayed route is a matter of record that can be stored and audited later to fix blame for any chicanery by either the driver or the company. Since so many passengers have navigation apps of their own, they can in many cases whip out a phone and compare routes real time.
in 20 years self driving cars will make this an amusing footnote in history. Like the static snow effect on old TVs, floppy disc drives and leaded gasoline.
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Because it's anachronistic? Maybe they should be tested on driving teams of horses too.
That way only a few guys could qualify and cab fares can be bid up so only the very rich can afford to use a cab.
As someone who lived in London for a few years, and who took rides in London cabs in numerous occasions, this come across as a desperate attempt by the London cab lobby to delay the inevitable. Uber and Lyft is already pointing out that the official cab service is overpriced, and not all that good. But this is just the beginning, for it won't be too long now until autonomous cabs, far better at memorizing the city ways and plotting routes, will be taking over. The death knell for London cabbies has already rung. They will of course kick and scream before the bitter end, but they know their days are numbered.
You'd have to be delusional to think this is an advantage.
Not at all. I would much rather be driven by someone who is proud of the job they do, who is committed enough that they are willing to spend the time to understand the layout of a large complex city and who also has the mental capacity to do so. The benefit of this test is not purely restricted to navigational know-how.
I, for what itâ(TM)s worth, much prefer black cabs to uber-like services. Wave your hand and name the place and enjoy fine comfort - beats fiddling with a phone, tiny on-screen keyboards and random, unvetted drivers and cars. Fees may be a bit higher but you pay for quality and convenience. And, to uberâ(TM)s credit, cabbies have become much kinder and friendlier these days.
they believe it allows them to deliver a superior level of service.
Well what is the problem then? The market will reward them if this is a level of service customers value.
This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
Do you not think that we don't bust our asses to create the best product we can for you? Millions of man-hours from people killing themselves with long hours have already gone into creating the self-driving systems that show promise for dramatically reducing traffic fatalities in another couple of decades and enabling many new industries. Millions more will be spent before the job is done.
Nobody mentioned self-driving cars. This is about whether London cabbies should be replaced by anyone who can drive while operating a GPS. Come up with a working, usable self-driving car and yes, probably just about everyone who earns a living from driving will be out of a job. Until then we need human drivers.
The Knowledge is certainly helpful. The problem is that there are idiosyncrasies to city traffic that are virtually impossible for algorithms to capture adequately, and the error rates on them are much too high for a cab driver to tolerate.
I do strongly feel that a good GPS application with up-to-date traffic information will be of tremendous help to a cab driver, but if they don't know the routes themselves, they're going to make mistakes. Sometimes the GPS app will not understand that you can't make a certain turn at a particular intersection. Sometimes it will misread traffic because one lane is far slower than another lane. If you know the streets well, it's often pretty easy to shave a few minutes off of the travel time, and know the best way to avoid big slowdowns if something like a car crash happens.
GPS apps are also often pretty terrible at the start and end of the journey. At the start, it may not realize which direction you're moving, or how best to reach the road if you're in a parking lot still. At the end of the journey, it may not know the best entrance, and if the best entrance is on a different street than the GPS thinks, it may require a significant detour that would be avoided by simply setting the destination properly. Knowing the city well enough for this can act as a good patch for these inadequacies.
The hippocampus grows measurably while a taxi driver learns The Knowledge: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16086233
The problem with memorizing every street in the city is, the streets are constantly changing. Google maps is usually a lot more up to date, and suggests alternate routes to work around traffic jams. The downside of using mapping software is it routes heavy traffic to out of the way streets that usually have very little traffic, annoying the people that live on those streets.
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Every major satnav brand has had products with real-time traffic information for years, at least in the UK where we're talking about.
I don't know why people keep bringing up apps, Google Maps and Waze, as if they're somehow in a different class to other in-car devices. They have no magic, and IME they're not particularly any better in the inner city areas that other systems don't handle well.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
Wow, stunning. Cabbies who have invested tons of effort in learning The Knowledge believe that effort adds value! No kidding, anyone who's invested effort learning a skill wants to believe that was worthwhile. No one wants to believe their skill is obsolete or low value.
If this makes cabbie service so much better, wonderful! Let's put it to a test. Uber and Uber drivers are betting GPS is better. Cabbies are betting humans are better. Let them both compete for riders and in a few years, we'll have a really good idea which is preferable.
This is, you'll notice, exactly how we decide which other product and service innovations are worthwhile and which are not.
To their credit, the London cabbies can deliver more than a quick ride from here to there. My brother and I had a largely unplanned vacation in Europe. (We knew where & when we were flying in & out and very little else.) One of our first days in London we asked a cabbie to show us a few high lights. He was as good as any tour guide and it was a lot more intimate. We also got some good suggestions of place to visit for a bit. Yes, we tipped generously.
Can't say the same for the cabbie in Paris. Can say not all French waiters are rude to American men. (A stereo type we'd heard.)
There are times when a cabbie will be able to do things that GPS can't. For example, when taking you to a hotel a cabbie might say "I can drop you off at this corner and it's a 50 yards down there, which will take you less than a minute, or I can take you to the door, but with this traffic and the one-way system it will take another 15 minutes". Traditionally they have been able to anticipate traffic, take fastest routes, and estimate times better than GPS, but things like Waze are catching up. However the advantage is marginal and for many trips a cheaper mini-cab would be almost as good.
There's a British TV film (play) about this. Made in 1979, it is #83 on the BFI list of the greatest British television programmes. Unsurprisingly, the film is called The Knowledge.
Waze can't beat a London taxi driver because Waze will not route you down bus only lanes and streets which a taxi can also use.
It's difficult to beat protectionism.
Troll doesn't mean "I disagree". It means someone is saying these things solely to piss people off, and usually doesn't even believe what they're saying. But it's a fact that it's difficult to beat protectionism, and it's also a fact that bus/taxi-only lanes are protectionist. And it's also a fact that neither HOV lanes nor bus lanes actually work. The carrying capacity is all out of proportion to the cost.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Yeah, like the time a few years ago when a GPS had my agent lead us an extra 30 mi or so on the DC Beltway by going the *wrong* direction.
Or the times that it, or Google maps, *always* wants to get you onto an Interstate, rather than using the through streets that the natives know.
And some idiot thinks that a London cabbie doesn't know if a bridge is out? Better than the GOP? Or why they should, or should not, go down that street?
Real World knowledge trumps what you're told by someone who wasn't there.
Let me see, 20 pounds for a cabbie to take me from point A to point B for 20 pounds but without GPS, or 10 pounds for an Uber driver who uses a GPS device and it may take 10 minutes longer (or less, if the GPS helps to avoid a traffic jam)... hmmm... decisions, decisions.
When the copyright term is "forever minus a day", live every day like it's the last.