What a London Taxi Exam Looks Like!

I love you vids mate , but this one brings back nightmares 😂😂😂
The week of an appearance was not fun 😂😂😂

Meanwhile i literally don’t know what the street i can see out my window is called (the one behind the house, obviously i know my address)

Unbelievable

Just started the knowledge me self so all these videos are brilliant

Please tell me they call it the Hackney Handshake!

When you said that your knowledge had dropped in the years following your test, but on the other hand, when you are driving the cab, you will go down the roads that you missed because you know them. Also, as you drive you will know certain "tricks of the trade, where you might not take "the tightest" route, because you know that it's not the best route. For example, when I used to cycle into the City, the first time I used Oxford Road. It was such a mess because of the buses. I then started using the Marylebone Road, which on the bike I could get through the traffic in the morning. I told my housemate, who had been going on a street adjacent to Oxford Road, and had been held up by the intersections. He acknowledged that the Marylebone Road saved him a few minutes. This is something that only experience will help you with.

train driver here, ya cant get this job by knowing people, trust me, and we also lose a bit of skill after we pass out. so no, taxi driver isn't the only job for that you're not unique!

In few years time all taxi Uber etc will be obsolete due to automatic electric services. Look at Milton Keys. All this Knowledge may make a few people feel better about themselves but is pointless in long run.

do you have your knowledge school ? i want to learn from you

I'm three minutes into this video and already thinking you guys are aliens. I can't even name most of the few streets within 25 yds of where I've lived for 15 years 😂

I'm a taxi driver in Tokyo and belong to a recruitment agent company related with taxi industry in Japan.

I didn't know that the taxi driver in London needs such a incredible knowledge.
Respect from Tokyo.

My final req run was actually Manor House to Gibson square.once examiner told me that on my 4th run I virtually collapsed

Very good point Tom when you said your at your peak when you complete the knowledge. It’s the same when I was in the marines. They actually said while we were in training. We would be at our fittest and in shape while doing basic training. And once you pass out. Your no at e high level you were whilst in training

But if u dunno those roads anymore how u get client on place o' destination?

How the h...does she knows map by heart?

+3 years studying omg, insane

I don't really have an interest in London or driving even, but your videos are FASCINATING to me. I get lost so easily so this encyclopedic knowledge of London absolutely blows my mind. The level at which your brains work is incredile!

Can Black cab drivers just not use a sat nav?

This feels a bit weird. I spent 37 years as a London Green Badge driver, retiring and leaving London 8 years ago. When I woke up this morning , in my quiet countryside home in the Cotswolds, for some unknown reason I was calling over a route in my head. One that I drove many thousands of times in real life without having to give the route a thought, yet I couldn’t ‘see’ a particular junction on the way. Like Homer Simpson in the cartoon series, when you put new stuff into your brain you have to push something else out - despite the huge hippocampus that London ‘black’ cab drivers develop !

Is this really necessary these days? I know the British are very fond of holding onto traditional ways but with sat navs now I'd question the reasons for holding onto this exam as impressive as it is when you see someone doing it well.

Good for you Tom that you showed us a run with you making mistakes. Be very easy not to have done that. ✅️

Amazing 👏

Man! These drivers are living, breathing GPS machines! No wonder it takes years to be a taxi driver.

It's said.... it takes at least 10,000 hours to achieve excellence in any field. Thank you Tom for these insights, absolutely fascinating. Stay well and safe. Hello from N2 : - )

just drive uber - you will not waste 3 years of your life learning what your sat nav already knows.

Are there any other cities in the world that require a version of the knowledge?

i would have thought your knowledge should improve as time went on as a working taxi driver rather than diminishing because you're constantly practising every day. if you didnt use the knowledge for a few years i could see it drying up but i'd have thought a cabbie with 20 years on the London roads would have more knowledge than a newly-qualified driver. shows what i know!

I don't understand how anyone can memorize so many road names omfg

When I visit London I only use black cabs, it’s a treat to use a traditional, truly London experience. Always the best and worth that little extra. Often you can have a good chat too. They also are more highly regulated than their competitors. Never ever use Uber.

I wont take an uber again, these lads and ladies deserve our cash.

Why do cabbies not use a sat nav like Uber drivers ?

It's like a computer program...You download the app and then keep updating it.

wait… all london taxi driver!? including those one not driving in a typical black cab?

Never realized how much effort it is for you guys to become a great Taxi driver, the fact that you need to remember all of the things without the use of SatNav is amazing, great video man

Lanndon in the Yuuu Kaaaaaaay have the best taxi drivers on the planet that's for sure!

Always amazes me that people actually spend three years with learning something so utterly unnecessary and useless. After three years you may have a knowledge almost as good as the cheapest nav computer had ten years ago. Congratulations. It used to make sense, but these days this whole thing is useless. I wonder how much time the brits need to recognise this... On top of the optimal route finding, modern cloud-based planning tools have live feedback from the roads so they can react to accidents, lane closures, motorcades, faulty traffic lights, etc. etc. Can a driver do that even after chillion years of memorizing static data?

Love your honesty Tom, its true hard to keep up with the constant changes to roads they make to 3 lanes to 1 ie: park lane in places, or or like Tottenham Court Rd, but its the little constant rat runs they close all the time that messes you up

Would really like to know when Leigh passes her exam.

You all deserve a gold medal for your knowledge of those London streets, and some of the traffic problems you can encounter. Many thanks for this video.

Old hat the job will be finished in a few years

My brother took that course in 2014. Took him 9 years to pass it

Great video Tom! Which is the best knowledge school in London atm? Thank you.

Thanks Tom for this video. I dont intend to learn the map however I find myself learning street names from watching your example.
Do cabbies get anything on top for running adverts on their taxi?

Knowledge is power 🧠

I don’t get why you can’t just use a day nav though?

Wow what a memory very impressive!

Can honestly say I rattled off all those lines fluently and my direction was 👌 your lines change so much from knowledge student to cab driver though. Loved the process and what it brought out of me.

Another great video Tom.
I will be starting back my mock appearances soon at the school helping the students. It would be great to meet up sometime have a coffee ☕️.

I will visit London soon. It Would be very cool to be your client.

In my younger days getting black cabs was a luxury and travelled London on the tube. Now I am older and have more readily available money I always get a cab when I can.
One day, just one day I am hoping to say "Hey,Tom the Taxi Driver..... I am honoured".