Potential London cab drivers must take and pass a series of tests known as “The Knowledge”. It tests their knowledge of the streets and landmarks of London, and the fastest (or most efficient) ways of getting a passenger from point A to point B. It can take as long as four years for a dedicated candidate to prepare for and take the tests. (lots of videos on Youtube)
However - with the introduction of GPS and other mapping software, I wonder how relevant are these tests nowadays? A driver can enter point A and point B, and the software will instantly show the route.
You Londoners out there - or anyone who has taken a London cab lately - are drivers looking at their maps, or are they driving the route from memory?
September 2025, Heathrow Airport to Westminster in a classic black cab. The driver clearly had a GPS based screen in front of him giving directions and traffic. I said the name of the hotel and off we went from the airport curb, but I didn’t see him program the GPS. I can’t say I was paying close attention to see if he snuck it in, though.
Separate black cab on the way back to the airport, same thing. The GPS had the route but the driver was off as soon as the door was closed (I’m sure he knows Westminster to Heathrow).
I wonder if it’s a touch screen so he just has to tap the location - or progressively tap the points more precisely closer to the destination as the map zooms in during the trip…
Passing “the Knowledge” is an impressive feat, of course, but we can be sure that protectionism against outside competitors is at least as much a rationale of that system as the customers’ interest is. There is such outside competition, of course, in the form of Uber (and similar rideshare companies) and what is called a “minicab” in the UK. But regulations are in place to maintain the distinction between such services and proper cabs; for instance, you can’t flag down a minicab in the street.
The Knowledge is still a mandatory qualifier for London Black Cab drivers - at this point I imagine it’s a matter of pride and protectionism. So Black cabbies don’t need satnav to navigate central London. How long this will be the state of play, who knows.
London’s Black Cabs are a treat and “The Knowledge” is a bonus. I always take a Black Cab in London, even if I don’t need one, because it’s always going to be the shortest distance between two points. Well, I do use the Tube, but for pinpoint locations, I use a Black Cab.
The Knowledge has been shown to alter London cabbies’ hippocampi /hippocampuses.
My one black cab experience - from an undistinguished street corner to a random other nondescript point - was done without GPS, and lots of talking and a bit of swearing.
I’m from Chicago, where you just hailed cabs driving past. Was quite surprised when work took me to Cincinnati, where (back then, t least) you could only get a cab at a designated cab stand.
My most recent experience (granted, it was a few years back, but well into the GPS age) suggests that The Knowledge gets updated more frequently than GPS maps. To wit:
I was visiting a hotel that had not opened yet (I was in the travel industry). I got in my cab and said, “I’d like to go to the Cadogan Hotel, please. It’s at…”
“Yeah, I got it, mate,” (sounding more than a little annoyed) and off we went.
I do wonder if the cab drivers might start using Waze or something similar to avoid traffic snarls and other unexpected hazards, but maybe they’ve got a word-of-mouth network that fills the same need.
Thing about London is that it’s a rabbit warren of a medieval street pattern, with lots of narrow backroads. The major benefit of the Knowledge is that the cabbies know all of the shortcuts and wiggles.
One thing that a map app gives you that The Knowledge doesn’t is real time traffic info. Sometimes the fastest route isn’t the shortest. I wonder if the black cab drivers with a GPS display are just using it to see current traffic conditions.
In the documentary 63 Up, the last of the Up series, one of the interviewees has been driving a black cab for years, and he said that Uber had taken away a third of his income. I’d guess that The Knowledge is becoming one of those delightful cultural artifacts that doesn’t have much functional importance, but keeps the tourists happy. I’d certainly take one instead of an Uber.
My girlfriend, who lived in London for many years, is also a devout black cab customer with a strong anti-Uber attitude. But I note that the difference in fares between the two is considerable; black cab drivers are self-employed independent business owners, and many of them rake in a six-figure income per year.
My wife has always called black cabs ‘a tax on women’, because we’re expected to fear the drivers of Ubers and minicabs, and favour black cabs for their superior safety credentials - and pay accordingly!
The thing I mainly love about black cabs is the large interior - vastly more spacious than any taxi I’ve got anywhere in the world. You can comfortably get five people in one cabin, and they’re accessible for wheelchair users.
A London Cabbie is a pretty good interview with a London cabbie; he talks about the evolution of the job some (it’s also a pretty good podcast in general, I find).
