Call to scrap current London taxi driver Knowledge test

[skyscraper101]

"The test that all black cab drivers in London must pass to secure a licence should be scrapped in its current form, according to the Conservatives."

Call to scrap current London taxi driver Knowledge test - BBC News

Far be it for me to endorse the Tories but what would other Londoners think to this? I'm generally in the couldn't give a fuck camp, I loathe black cabs so barely ever use them. On the handful of times I have, the driver didn't even know the street I asked for half the time. Load of bollocks.

 

[Pickman's model]

they should keep the knowledge so it's only half the time they don't know where your destination is. i've known a cabby for a quarter of a century and a nicer man you could not hope to meet (with the exception of Badgers of course). should people just rely on gps? stupid notion.

 

[DotCommunist]

I see uber have finally crossed the correct palms with silver

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

I can't see it's of much use to Uber. Their business is based on undercutting black cabs (or the equivalent wherever they are), I can't see this would help them.

Black cabs are a bit of an irrelevance to me though tbh. If I'm in central London I'll get the tube or a bus. On the fairly rare occasions I'll get a cab it'll be out near where I live and you barely see them out there. And that's zone 3 so not exactly miles out.

 

[DotCommunist]

I can't see it's of much use to Uber. Their business is based on undercutting black cabs (or the equivalent wherever they are), I can't see this would help them.

erodes the exclusivity of the black cab drivers knowledge by deskilling the employment criteria. Other than that, the nice roomy black cab and its iconic look- what sets them apart from other taxis except the ranks/flagging?

 

[Reno]

Doesn't make any difference to me, can't afford black cabs anyway. Taking a black cab home after a night out on a Saturday costs more than an Easyjet flight to Spain.

 

[hot air baboon]

what sets them apart from other taxis except the ranks/flagging?

...cutting edge & well-informed opinions on the current affairs and political controversies of the day.....they'll drop pregnant women in labour and D Day veterans off for free & you're meant to be safer ....less chance of hopping into a vehicle driven by a recently released homicidal maniac or sex-offender....

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

erodes the exclusivity of the black cab drivers knowledge by deskilling the employment criteria. Other than that, the nice roomy black cab and its iconic look- what sets them apart from other taxis except the ranks/flagging?

Other than that lengthy list of things? Not much.

Yeah OK they'd lose the knowledge and that's an advantage at present. I think the logic is primarily to drive the price down though and that's the last thing Uber would want.

 

[andysays]

erodes the exclusivity of the black cab drivers knowledge by deskilling the employment criteria. Other than that, the nice roomy black cab and its iconic look- what sets them apart from other taxis except the ranks/flagging?

So, apart from the having to pass stringent tests to demonstrate that they have an intimate knowledge of the geography of London streets, important buildings etc, being able to flag them down or use a Taxi rank rather than pre-book (although that option is also available), the nice roomy black cab with its iconic look and the smallest turning circle of any vehicle of that size, what have the Romans Taxi drivers ever done for us?

 

[DotCommunist]

Other than that lengthy list of things? Not much.

Yeah OK they'd lose the knowledge and that's an advantage at present. I think the logic is primarily to drive the price down though and that's the last thing Uber would want.

well thats what I'm saying, thin end of a wedge right? deskill the labour force, casualise the process then ????=profit

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

well thats what I'm saying, thin end of a wedge right? deskill the labour force, casualise the process then ????=profit

Yeah but Uber are already doing that, and totally coining it in. This isn't about deskilling Uber's labour force.

What's in it for them if the Black Cabs do the same?

 

[BigMoaner]

black taxi drivers make hefty wedge - fact.

 

[BigMoaner]

london in 20 years time will have no

book shops
libraries
cinemas
music/media shops
black taxis

it'll just be resturants and barbers and estate agents.

fact.

internet, init.

 

[DotCommunist]

well they'd be rid of a competitor (eventually) who has a discernable advantage to the customer over mr tom-tom.

 

[skyscraper101]

I don't rate the roomy design of black cabs at all.

Granted they are iconic in the same sense of the term as red phone boxes and all, but I personally prefer to ride in a regular car with an uber driver - often in the passenger seat, rather than shout from the back of a black cab through a glass partition over the noise of a diesel engine. Then there's all the faffing with cash and receipts at the end.

 

[skyscraper101]

I'm no fan of uber either, I'm just saying the comfort and convenience is way better.

 

[hot air baboon]

...the Knowledge is a classic "barrier to entry" which these insurgent companies need to demolish...but at least one based on a genuine level of skill and requiring some pretty serious committment on the part of the driver...

...in Italy they use a licence system...with a restricted number of available licences which the drivers can then sell on at some significant capital outlay to the new driver when they retire.....a bit like buying a seat on the Stock Exchange....

 

[andysays]

...in Italy they use a licence system...with a restricted number of available licences which the drivers can then sell on at some significant capital outlay to the new driver when they retire...

And anyone who's ever got a taxi in Rome knows where that can lead...

 

[scifisam]

erodes the exclusivity of the black cab drivers knowledge by deskilling the employment criteria. Other than that, the nice roomy black cab and its iconic look- what sets them apart from other taxis except the ranks/flagging?

They can use bus lanes, which can significantly speed up your journey. Despite the protestations of Uber and their ilk it'd be impossible to allow all types of taxi to use bus lanes, because they'd get too crowded and become unusable.

There's a booking app for black cabs, btw, called Gett. I've used it a few times and it works well.

I like black cabs because they tend to be disabled accessible and it's only them that accept disabled Taxicard bookings. Also I dislike being asked to give a cabbie directions when half the time the reason I'm getting a taxi is that I don't know the way myself. Satnavs take too long to find the address for a quick journey and sometimes they're wrong anyway.

 

[not-bono-ever]

dont have a problem with black cabs knowledge being barrier to entry issue,its an apprenticeship ultimately.

some uk cities do still restrict plate levels and they do have a value- think london is unlimited now, so plates have no value.

expense aside, the only real bugbear i have with black cabs is I have yet to get into one where its credit card machine is working- and dont always have cash to hand

 

[skyscraper101]

expense aside, the only real bugbear i have with black cabs is I have yet to get into one where its credit card machine is working- and dont always have cash to hand

That old chestnut. Another reason I so hate black cabs.

 

[not-bono-ever]

black taxi drivers make hefty wedge - fact.

not any more. you can do ok if you work shitty hours and accept 3AM arseholes and aggro as part of the package

 

[BigMoaner]

i like them. a proper old trade that still plays top dollar.

 

[BigMoaner]

not any more. you can do ok if you work shitty hours and accept 3AM arseholes and aggro as part of the package

who told you that - a taxi driver?

 

[bi0boy]

Last time I got a black cab, the "professional driver" had an elbow out the window, was toking an e-cig and was wearing flip-flops. I know he was wearing flip flops because his left foot was on the dashboard for the whole journey.

 

[Spymaster]

You can hail black cabs too.

When you've had a few drinks, it's pissing down with rain, and you just want to go home, the most uplifting sight in the world is that yellow light coming down the road.

 

[DotCommunist]

gotta be better than the blue flashing one that someties accompanies drunken evenings

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Black cabs are stupidly expensive. Most people using them are rich business types charging to expenses. Good that they also take disabled taxicard passengers - that's a social good they perform. But for most Londoners, I would suggest that they are pretty much an irrelevance - something other people use.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

You can hail black cabs too.

When you've had a few drinks, it's pissing down with rain, and you just want to go home, the most uplifting sight in the world is that yellow light coming down the road.

Night bus

 

[bi0boy]

You can hail black cabs too.

When you've had a few drinks, it's pissing down with rain, and you just want to go home, the most uplifting sight in the world is that yellow light coming down the road.

Waiting on a pavement staring intently at the traffic for what seems like foreever and hoping you'll spot a black cab with it's light on who'll stop for you is a lot less enjoyable than going on uber and tracking your car on a map as it approaches you, with the driver phoning you when he arrives if you're in a pub.