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It's not completely replaceable by technology. Once I had gotten a text from my wife as to where to meet her for dinner with friends. She didn't know the rest

by jedc 12y ago

It's not completely replaceable by technology. Once I had gotten a text from my wife as to where to meet her for dinner with friends. She didn't know the restaurant name, and had gotten the street name wrong. I just read the text to my London black cab driver, he asked me: "Did you mean XXX restaurant on [correct street name]?" (Note: there were multiple restaurants on the street). And sure enough, he was 100% correct. That's the day I learned to really respect drivers with The Knowledge.

custardcream 12y ago
That's probably not "The Knowledge"; that's just some local experience and the fact that it's a high probability someone is going from that precise restaurant quite often. I myself have drunkenly hailed many a taxi outside dodgy restaurants in London. Unlicensed minicabs are pretty good at that too. Conversely, got a taxi from Angel to Leyton and the idiot went via Poplar and the A13 and the journey cost me £55 for a £30 journey.
- jedc 12y ago
  Maybe I wasn't clear... I was in a couple miles away at home and told this driver the wrong street (and no restaurant name) and he got me where I needed to go. You might put it down to "local experience" but I think it's better attributed to the knowledge; there's no way a minicab driver would have been able to do the same. As you rightly point out, it doesn't mean that drivers won't still take the piss, but it definitely limits it. (Particularly when I compare it to virtually any other large city I've traveled to.)
- kitd 12y ago
  Read the article. Updating the Knowledge is exactly what they do when businesses open and close.
- rurounijones 12y ago
  The knowledge is not only the streets, they also have to memorise "points of interest" which includes things like pubs and restaurants.
  - custardcream 12y ago
    But that's illogical. If you know the bar and restaurant scene in London, it's very volatile. Restaurants and bars change names at an incredible rate. "The knowledge" will have expired by the time you've learned it.
    - jedc 12y ago
      You must not have read the article. There's an expectation that drivers keep their knowledge current. Certainly the examiners keep their knowledge current and test based on that.
      - custardcream 12y ago
        I did. I really don't think you understand the scale of the problem.
        AmirS2 12y ago
        It's certainly a large scale problem, but a smaller problem than learning all the points of interest in the first place ... no one is saying it's easy ...
        deleted 12y ago
        [deleted]

by jedc 12y ago

custardcream 12y ago

That's probably not "The Knowledge"; that's just some local experience and the fact that it's a high probability someone is going from that precise restaurant quite often. I myself have drunkenly hailed many a taxi outside dodgy restaurants in London. Unlicensed minicabs are pretty good at that too. Conversely, got a taxi from Angel to Leyton and the idiot went via Poplar and the A13 and the journey cost me £55 for a £30 journey.

jedc 12y ago
Maybe I wasn't clear... I was in a couple miles away at home and told this driver the wrong street (and no restaurant name) and he got me where I needed to go. You might put it down to "local experience" but I think it's better attributed to the knowledge; there's no way a minicab driver would have been able to do the same. As you rightly point out, it doesn't mean that drivers won't still take the piss, but it definitely limits it. (Particularly when I compare it to virtually any other large city I've traveled to.)
kitd 12y ago
Read the article. Updating the Knowledge is exactly what they do when businesses open and close.
rurounijones 12y ago
The knowledge is not only the streets, they also have to memorise "points of interest" which includes things like pubs and restaurants.
- custardcream 12y ago
  But that's illogical. If you know the bar and restaurant scene in London, it's very volatile. Restaurants and bars change names at an incredible rate. "The knowledge" will have expired by the time you've learned it.
  - jedc 12y ago
    You must not have read the article. There's an expectation that drivers keep their knowledge current. Certainly the examiners keep their knowledge current and test based on that.
    - custardcream 12y ago
      I did. I really don't think you understand the scale of the problem.
      - AmirS2 12y ago
        It's certainly a large scale problem, but a smaller problem than learning all the points of interest in the first place ... no one is saying it's easy ...
      - deleted 12y ago
        [deleted]