Taxi Driver Online

Is it really worth all the time and expense (£400) to take the Topographical Knowledge Test? It seems a lot of work to drive a taxi when satellite technology does the job for you anyway.

Pros and Cons?

I'll take that as a NO, it is not worth the time and expense to take the knowledge test. It must be really bad out there in auld reekie...

Go for it.

And no app to tell the tax man exactly how much you earn.

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IDFIMH

My son is interested in the idea of doing the knowledge but I've been trying to put him off it on the basis, it's just not worth the time and money to pass the knowledge. If he drives PH/Uber he can start earning right away and he only wants to work part-time for some pocket money.

I used to drive taxis/ph many years ago and still know people working in the industry and they tell me their trade is circling the drain. It's a shame really as it used to be a handy way to make some extra cash.

£400 is a drop in the ocean compared to what he will pay any operator/uber. Always have the option of telling them where to stick their data base/uber rip off. It is imo a no brainer to have the knowledge if he is going to be a part - timer, he will be able to go out at anytime to work part - time, without paying full time rates.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

It can be a stressful job, but so can marriage and millions of us do that.

If you have low outgoings and are flexible as to the hours you can work you will be fine.

If however you expect to earn fortunes then you will not be fine.

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IDFIMH

Cabby John wrote:
If taking the knowledge meant cheaper outlays and a much greater return for his time and effort, I would agree, £400 is a drop in the ocean but I am not sure if that is the case any longer. The last conversation I had with a cabby was over the Christmas period and he seemed to think the situation for the taxi trade was pretty dire and with Ph/Uber my son has the opportunity to learn and earn on the job.

Stick him on uber then, you seem to be all for it, however if it were my son I'd prefer he was screened off from the public there has been two high profile cases of ph divers being attacked in the last weeks, one woman punched unconscious and another guy slashed for his watch, There seems to be a high concentration of the Asian/ foreign community driving for uber in Edinburgh just an observation so there is some sort of attraction for them , I'm not sure why that should be,I've heard aslo that navigating round Edinburgh with a sat nav can lead to trouble from a best route point of view
Black taxis/ hackneys are not paved gold it's hard work, I don't think working with uber will be any easier tho in fact they seem to be growing at an alarming rate I can't see how the drivers can be making any money

There's nowt to stop your son doing both, drive ph while he learns the knowledge

I could have sworn that there were many pages on here somewhere from the Edinburgh hackney trade saying that Uber would not last in the city because the black cabs were ahead of the game. Is this not now the case?

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Grandad,

They are still operating as far as I'm aware, I think they are taking work mainly from the other ph companies as opposed to gaining Hackney work

Its an odd area where rank/flags work is greater than "rung for" cabs

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

I am a believer that you should have as many arrows to your bow as possible! On that basis my thoughts are this; if someone said to me give me £400 and you will be able to earn a living to take any passenger you like - I would rip their arm off for it. It opens more options to earn without looking over your shoulder to see if a copper/LA official is waiting to do you, as he will get tempted to cut corners. Also remember there are drivers out there and despite all of their moaning, they are earning a living, in reality it is not in their interest to say/claim that they are doing alright/making a small fortune.

You also have "blacktaxi" saying "There's nowt to stop your son doing both, drive ph while he learns the knowledge", imo he is right, also bare in mind that at least 20% of it is tax deductible - good luck.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

spending 400 brick on a knowledge test is just crazy these days, absolutely no need at all with all the tech stuff about , in my last p/h car ( xtype) i had a garmin, galaxy s6 with google maps on, built in sat nav in the car & a sat nav on the plotter , ffs if that dont get you there just ask the punter, conversation normally goes something like this :

take me to 23 blog street mate?
where is that mate ?
you know the pub/ landmark called ( insert name here)?
yes
head for that mate & i will direct you from there i would say 99% of punters dont care if you ask

I tend to agree with your statement. Ten years ago I would have advised my son to put all his efforts into attaining the knowledge but as you say, with all the tech stuff about, it makes the knowledge for all practical purposes, obsolete.

I am not all for anything, I am just trying to assess the current situation from a practical point of view. I have had experience in driving PH and Taxis but many years ago and a lot has changed, especially with the technology now on offer. And I have already suggested that whatever route he wishes to go down the vehicle should be fitted with CCTV. In fact, it's a mystery to me why anyone driving a Ph/taxi would even consider driving without CCTV in the vehicle.