Taxi Driver Online

Cabbies take around three years to pass the Knowledge exam
Black cab drivers, with their famed Knowledge of London's streets, have traditionally had the edge over their non-english speaking minicab rivals.

But the increasing use of sat-nav systems has led minicab drivers to claim they are almost as efficient. (in swalheli)

The Knowledge, which normally takes three or four years' study to attain, involves remembering every street within six miles of Charing Cross.

While few minicab drivers would challenge the cabbies' pre-eminence in central London, they say sat-nav has put them on a level playing field outside Knowledge territory in the suburbs.

The BBC News Website decided to put this claim to the test to see if the guidance system had eroded the Knowledge's superiority.

Our examination, by no means scientific, involved hiring two cabs, a black cab with no sat-nav and a minicab with the device.


Of the dozen or so trials attended by the LDTA, the cabbies have won out on all occasions

Bob Oddy
Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association general secretary

Starting from the BBC London office in Marylebone High Street, in W1, we headed to Nunhead in SE15 - an 8.2-mile trip during the evening rush hour.

Driving the black cab was Bill, a retired police officer of 30 years, who had only recently passed his Knowledge test after only two years' training.

And in the red Citroen minicab was Somali-born Maya, who has only been covering central London for a month but has installed satellite navigation software in his car.

Bill left at 1705 BST and took us through Hyde Park Corner, St James' Park, Parliament Square, Westminster Bridge, over the Bricklayer's Arms flyover into Old Kent Road turning off into Pomeroy Street heading into Nunhead.

He took a small deviation around Nunhead's Victorian cemetery but quickly found his way, reaching the destination in 42 minutes, at 1747 BST. The trip cost £35.

Road works

While black cabs are also permitted to use sat-nav to help them on journeys to outer London, Bill said he was not convinced the technology would improve the quality of his service.

"Sat-nav won't tell me if there are road works on such and such a road, or that some routes work better depending on the time of day," he said.

Meanwhile, Maya set off at 1800 BST after inputting the destination address into his sat-nav device which estimated the journey time at an optimistic 27 minutes.


Minicab driver Maya's sat-nav directed him into a bus depot

His route took him through Victoria, a congested Vauxhall Bridge, Oval, Camberwell Green and Old Kent Road heading towards Peckham.

But near Peckham High Street, the sat-nav directed him to turn right a bit too soon, straight into a bus depot.

"How are we going to get out of here then," he said, letting out a chuckle as though it was not the first time sat-nav had led him astray. Good thing the metre was not running.

He completed the journey in 53 minutes - 11 minutes slower than the GPS-challenged Bill - but at £19, the fare was £16 cheaper.

The result was no surprise to Bob Oddy, general secretary of the London Taxi Drivers' Association (LTDA), who has been involved in several trials pitting guidance systems against London cabbies.

"Of the dozen or so trials attended by the LTDA, the cabbies have won out on all occasions," he said.

'Good test'

He added that the obvious flaw with most sat-nav systems was that they failed to recognise that the same route was not necessarily the best choice at different times of the day.

"A good test is to programme a route at 7am and then repeat the process at 7pm," he told the cabbies newspaper Taxi.

But John Griffin, founder of minicab firm Addison Lee, said: "A black cab driver who's done the Knowledge might know 8,000 routes through London but a sat-nav device knows 80,000 and that's a huge difference.

"Minicabs are now in their slipstream and things like satellite navigation, with us both using the same technology, will help us catch up."

Steve Wright, chairman of the Licensed Private Hire and Car Association, said sat-nav was a "great leveller".

"It brings private-hire cabs closer to the unique service of the black cab," he said.

"But we don't see it as replacing the Knowledge yet."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5172082.stm

One wonders if it had not been the BBC who hired 'aymo' for a 'versus London Taxi' test, what the fare would have been then?

I was thinking that, £19 for a hour's work in London.

Get more selling the Big Issue.

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IDFIMH

The issue isn't if you know 8,000 or 80,000 different routes, it's knowing the right one.

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IDFIMH

Especialy to Kings Cross Station from the South.

I'm with GBC on this one.
My worst driver's are the one's who use sat nav.
You can't beat local knowledge/the a-z never goe's wrong!!.

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stressed controller!!!

Have the london A-Z's now improved then and tell you wether or not a street is a one way street as this used to be a nightmare to me back in the 90s in Cheshunt and surrounding areas, especially when travelling in to the city

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Legal and proud

Loads a love from BERTIE !!

'Hello Mr Punter.

I can save you 40% on a black cab fare. You can sit in a comfortable seat, in an air conditioned car and I throw in a free tour of a bus depot as well.'

Sorry GBC, I can see why you are running scared and your sole agenda is too knock the PH industry. In your heart you know they are going to rip the guts out of your cozy life.

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As for the Knowledge/Sat Nav discussion, I think the ideal solution is somewhere between the two. You know roughly where you are going and best way to get there, once your close you hit the sat nav for the final part of the journey.

Now lets do the maths, 3 years learning before you can earn, what does that cost? 75K in London. Or a trip down to Halfords and for less than £500 be earning tomorrow.

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And then you have the real taxi driver experience. My Mrs and I got a cab from Paddington on a Thursday evening, asked to go to the Express By Holiday Inn in Victoria. After the cabbie took us to two wrong hotels, neither a Holiday inn of any sort he rang his mate for help. No good, I had to ring my office who guided us in on a map. Cost £16.40 for my magical mystery tour of London.

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A member of the Hire or Reward Industry

Your comfortable seat and air conditioning would apply to about 40% of London Minicabs, the rest use 8 year old vauxhall Astra's, Peaugeot Hatchbacks or even the odd Rover Metro.

The 'fare' in the Minicab was clearly discounted as it was for a BBC news story, the Licensed London Taxi is metered, as I'm sure a man of your intelect knows.

The cost to Nunhead is about £25 during normal traffic conditions.

As for your guff about running scared, I have some news for you Mr Thumb, its the London PH (greedy) operators that are running scared, as their badly paid employees leave in their thousands every year, Minicab driving is something the vast majority do until something better comes along, a true London Taxi driver does it until he or she retires.

My earnings continue to rise every year whilst my working hours remain the same, so I guess they had better hurry up and 'rip the guts' out of my ever increasing 'cozy life'

The London Minicab industry has been trying since the 6th of March 1961 to 'rip the guts' out of the real London Taxi trade, nearly 50 years later they still have'nt succeded.



Thats the beauty of computers is it not?
Equaly I went to York and a local PH driver did'nt have a clue where he was going, his sat Nav took us all over the place. . . . . etc etc.

We can all type these sort of storys in an attempt to prove our points, clearly you have made it up, as I can't see why a succesful company man like yourself would want to stay in a cheapskate Hotel like a Holiday Inn express in a downtrodden area like Victoria.

As a little footnote, just how many thousands of Hotels do you think London has? and how many of these thousand of Hotels change their name or owners on a 6 monthly basis?

Paddington to Victoria is around £14 - 15 anyway, so it must have been a short tour.

Try Addison Lee Minicabs next time your visiting.

www.addisonlee.com

Ask your driver, if he speaks English, what they charge from Padders to Victoria.

GBC I think you have omitted 1 thing and that is only black cabs can use Westminster bridge, any other cabs will be fined, I think I have the correct 1 but last year 1 of our cabs was down there and went over the bridge and was sent a mug shot and a fine for following the taxis only rule even though he had taxi plain as day on the roof and was plated, If Westminster bridge has this rule is it any wonder the PH was slower with him having to go the long way round???

As a follow up I have used sat nav for over 2 years and never had a problem, If you put the correct information in it gets you there even to the south of France , I think your jealous because his goes south of the river

Eh?

All traffic can use Westminster Bridge.

I try it out against the route I have in my head.

I used it tonight from New Oxford Street to an unknown street of Dunton Road. (which is south)

For about 7 minutes of the 15 minute trip, it had no signal, now imagine if you were relying on that for directions with a meter ticking away?

Mine works fine, I use an outside arial, any way I dont go south of Watford guv