3 ms·

But in 2014, there should be no need to make people memorize those thing to the risk of their heads exploding. Maybe if the Black Cabs had used their network to

by return0 13y ago

But in 2014, there should be no need to make people memorize those thing to the risk of their heads exploding. Maybe if the Black Cabs had used their network to create an AI-powered optimal route-finding system, they wouldn't be afraid of competition.

gadders 13y ago
Ha. I'd be interested to see anyone manage that. On top of this, in central London it's pretty built up so SatNav doesn't always work in the canyons between buildings.
- cjrp 13y ago
  Plus a SatNav won't know that at rush hour, a longer (distance-wise) route could be quicker in a black cab due to them being allowed to use bus lanes.
  - TeMPOraL 13y ago
    Well, that's a simple software problem with street definitions. Much simpler to fix than what amounts to implementing a GPS/pathfinding system inside someone's head for even one driver.
  - viraptor 13y ago
    Google maps already integrates with Uber. If they managed to get such connection, I'm not sure why a bigger black cab company operating in large cities couldn't get an agreement to include taxi/bus lanes on a separate app. Can't imagine Uber forced Google to cooperate with them...
    - dragonwriter 13y ago
      Isn't Google -- through Google Ventures -- a significant investor in Uber? That kind of may give them a different set of considerations than "a bigger black cab company" would have.
      - viraptor 13y ago
        Sure and I think we're in agreement - Google proved it will do something nice for a taxi company if they profit from it. It's just a very specific kind of profit in this case.
    - cjrp 13y ago
      Google Ventures are an Uber investor, I'm not sure if that's what sparked the integration but it probably didn't hurt! I'm not sure if there's actually a comprehensive source for bus lane data - if there is, it would be really useful for motorbike users too (who can generally use bus lanes).
  - danielweber 13y ago
    I don't want to say "that should be easy to do," but I'd be shell-shocked if any company with experience doing navigation systems couldn't figure this out without too much trouble. Also, even if GPS signals are hard to get in London, navigation in a fixed city can be calculated in lots of different ways. Allowing for some regulatory limits, a company (or an experienced third-party) could scatter their own transmitters around the city as needed, figuring out which frequencies give the best accuracy.
    - lttlrck 13y ago
      It should be easy to minimize turns across traffic and avoid traffic lights... but they seem to have plenty of trouble doing that.
- tragic 13y ago
  I don't know - some modern satnav systems are able to get hold of live traffic info and suchlike. That was always the point of The Knowledge - to know (for example) which major thoroughfares to avoid so you aren't going to be sitting in gridlock for an hour, however counterintuitive such evasive manoeuvres might be to an automated route finder. The better informed the satnav, the less valuable that is.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
- bananas 13y ago
  Works fine with Google Maps for me, even in blackwall tunnel. I think there is some inertial navigation through device accelerometers as well.
tomp 13y ago
For the purpose of my and other people's safety, I don't want my taxi driver to be constantly looking at the phone at the busiest junctions, neither do I want to explain to them how to spell a given street name so that they can type it in their phone in the middle of a busy street during the rush hour. Maybe in 2024.
- TeMPOraL 13y ago
  It's not "constantly looking at the phone", it's the plain old "using navigation in your car" that many people already do. AFAIK, safe driving with navigation is a long-solved problem.
  - ZenPro 13y ago
    Source? Simpy by sheer logic the very act of using a navigation aid (phone, Sat Nav, map) must result in decreased attention to the mechanical process of driving. I would challenge that safe navigation is a long solved problem. Who solved it? How? How was it measured? When was it solved - 2013? 2004?
lclarkmichalek 13y ago
Having taken a non black cab yesterday which involved the driver reprogramming the sat-nav, whilst talking on his Bluetooth and handing my friend a business card, I'm OK with relying on human knowledge once in a while.
- danielweber 13y ago
  You chose to take a non-black-cab, right? I may not have all the facts, but I think it's fine for the black cabs to offer a luxury service that you need to pass a hard test to join. This is distinct from making it illegal for someone else to offer an inferior service at a discounted price.

by return0 13y ago

gadders 13y ago

Ha. I'd be interested to see anyone manage that. On top of this, in central London it's pretty built up so SatNav doesn't always work in the canyons between buildings.

cjrp 13y ago
Plus a SatNav won't know that at rush hour, a longer (distance-wise) route could be quicker in a black cab due to them being allowed to use bus lanes.
- TeMPOraL 13y ago
  Well, that's a simple software problem with street definitions. Much simpler to fix than what amounts to implementing a GPS/pathfinding system inside someone's head for even one driver.
- viraptor 13y ago
  Google maps already integrates with Uber. If they managed to get such connection, I'm not sure why a bigger black cab company operating in large cities couldn't get an agreement to include taxi/bus lanes on a separate app. Can't imagine Uber forced Google to cooperate with them...
  - dragonwriter 13y ago
    Isn't Google -- through Google Ventures -- a significant investor in Uber? That kind of may give them a different set of considerations than "a bigger black cab company" would have.
    - viraptor 13y ago
      Sure and I think we're in agreement - Google proved it will do something nice for a taxi company if they profit from it. It's just a very specific kind of profit in this case.
  - cjrp 13y ago
    Google Ventures are an Uber investor, I'm not sure if that's what sparked the integration but it probably didn't hurt! I'm not sure if there's actually a comprehensive source for bus lane data - if there is, it would be really useful for motorbike users too (who can generally use bus lanes).
- danielweber 13y ago
  I don't want to say "that should be easy to do," but I'd be shell-shocked if any company with experience doing navigation systems couldn't figure this out without too much trouble. Also, even if GPS signals are hard to get in London, navigation in a fixed city can be calculated in lots of different ways. Allowing for some regulatory limits, a company (or an experienced third-party) could scatter their own transmitters around the city as needed, figuring out which frequencies give the best accuracy.
  - lttlrck 13y ago
    It should be easy to minimize turns across traffic and avoid traffic lights... but they seem to have plenty of trouble doing that.
tragic 13y ago
I don't know - some modern satnav systems are able to get hold of live traffic info and suchlike. That was always the point of The Knowledge - to know (for example) which major thoroughfares to avoid so you aren't going to be sitting in gridlock for an hour, however counterintuitive such evasive manoeuvres might be to an automated route finder. The better informed the satnav, the less valuable that is.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
bananas 13y ago
Works fine with Google Maps for me, even in blackwall tunnel. I think there is some inertial navigation through device accelerometers as well.

tomp 13y ago

For the purpose of my and other people's safety, I don't want my taxi driver to be constantly looking at the phone at the busiest junctions, neither do I want to explain to them how to spell a given street name so that they can type it in their phone in the middle of a busy street during the rush hour. Maybe in 2024.

TeMPOraL 13y ago
It's not "constantly looking at the phone", it's the plain old "using navigation in your car" that many people already do. AFAIK, safe driving with navigation is a long-solved problem.
- ZenPro 13y ago
  Source? Simpy by sheer logic the very act of using a navigation aid (phone, Sat Nav, map) must result in decreased attention to the mechanical process of driving. I would challenge that safe navigation is a long solved problem. Who solved it? How? How was it measured? When was it solved - 2013? 2004?

lclarkmichalek 13y ago

Having taken a non black cab yesterday which involved the driver reprogramming the sat-nav, whilst talking on his Bluetooth and handing my friend a business card, I'm OK with relying on human knowledge once in a while.

danielweber 13y ago
You chose to take a non-black-cab, right? I may not have all the facts, but I think it's fine for the black cabs to offer a luxury service that you need to pass a hard test to join. This is distinct from making it illegal for someone else to offer an inferior service at a discounted price.