In the US, licensure as a taxi driver shouldn’t be troublesome to acquire, with essentially the most stringent necessities being present in New York Metropolis, the place the Taxi & Limousine Fee requires candidates to finish a 24-hour driver training course, a passenger help and wheelchair accessible automobile coaching, an 80-question a number of alternative examination, a felony background verify, and drug testing.

The NYC necessities seem like baby’s play when in comparison with these in London, England, the place would-be drivers of the enduring black cab should bear a rigorous examination often known as the “Information of London” which regularly requiring three to 4 years of training and coaching.

What’s the Information of London?

Following the Nice Exhibition of the Works of Business of all Nations, held on the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park in 1851, most of the attendees had been mentioned to have complained that cabmen (then working horse-drawn carriages), didn’t know their manner across the metropolis.

In response, the Information of London was instituted in 1865 as a program to check drivers’ information of the town, its principal streets, squares and public buildings. This system is rooted in the concept that all London cab drivers ought to “know the quickest routes by way of London’s difficult street community” by coronary heart.

The curriculum is printed within the 80-page Information to Studying the Information of London, often known as the “Blue Ebook,” and consists of some 320 routes (often known as runs) that criss-cross the town. Drivers are anticipated to be taught and memorize these runs, in addition to the 25,000+ streets and factors of curiosity (golf equipment, hospitals, inns, theatres, embassies, stations, historic buildings, and so on.) which are inside a six-mile radius of Charing Cross, the official middle of London. Candidates’ information is examined by way of seven rigorous levels of examination.

The 7 Phases of London Cab Driver Coaching and Certification

Transport for London outlines seven levels of examination that candidates should move so as to earn a London taxi license, which I’ve summarized right here:

• Stage 1 (Self evaluation) — Inside six months of beginning, drivers can take a self-assessment, which is predicated on the primary 80 routes within the coaching handbook.

• Stage 2 (Written examination) — This a number of alternative examination checks candidates on their information of the Blue Ebook and the most important landmarks in London.

• Phases 3-5 (Appearances) — Candidates should seem earlier than a TfL examiner for a collection of verbal examinations. They’ll be requested to reply questions in regards to the shortest routes between randomly chosen factors in London and, based mostly on the standard of their solutions, could also be awarded factors. TfL states that stage 3 appearances are usually 56 days aside, stage 4 appearances 28 days aside, and stage 5 appearances 21 days aside. Candidates transfer between the levels solely after incomes the requisite variety of factors in every stage.

• Stage 6 (Suburban examination) — Within the suburban section, candidates will probably be examined on their information of the routes from central London to the 9 suburban sectors, in addition to routes to and from Heathrow and London Metropolis airports. TfL means that this stage ought to take most candidates six weeks to finish.

• Stage 7 (License utility) — Solely after studying and being totally examined on the Information will candidates be invited to make a proper utility for his or her London taxi license. License holders should be 21 years of age, have a proper to reside and work within the UK, and efficiently move an enhanced felony background verify. As soon as accepted, they may meet one final time with a Information examiner to obtain a briefing about their obligations as a taxi driver.

Extra necessities not particular to the Information examination additionally apply to taxi drivers, together with a taxi driving take a look at from the Driver and Automobile Requirements Company, which features a part on loading, unloading and securing a wheelchair. London’s black cabs are distinctive in that each one has a side-entry wheelchair ramp. You’ll be able to be taught extra in my information to wheelchair accessible taxis in London.

Totally different pathways lead folks to careers as London Cab drivers

In a prospectus focused at these all in favour of pursuing a profession as a London cabbie, Transport for London shares the tales of 4 completely different drivers, which I’ve reproduced right here:

It’s extremely attention-grabbing to be taught the assorted routes folks take to the motive force’s seat of a London cab — in these 4 tales, we hear from a college scholar, amputee, skilled footballer, and a paramedic. Their variety of backgrounds contribute to the optimistic expertise that guests to London rave about, and which I stay up for every time I go to. One factor they share in frequent is a love for London and their deep information of the town, which is tremendously useful to all who hail a cab.

Ultimate Ideas

The Information is thought to be one of the vital troublesome examinations on the earth, making London’s 24,000 cab drivers a part of an elite group. Whenever you hop or wheel right into a London cab, you received’t discover a driver asking you for instructions or consulting Google Maps — their immense information of the town will effectively get you the place you’ll want to go, whether or not it’s an attraction, lodge, restaurant or your buddy’s flat. The Information of London offers me confidence in hailing a cab that I don’t have in different cities, the place drivers so typically appeared untrained, unprofessional and unserious.

London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan, is quoted as saying “Because the world’s best metropolis it’s completely proper that we now have, and proceed to have, the very best and most certified cabbies on the earth.” Whether or not London is your favourite metropolis or not, it’s clear that no metropolis prepares cab drivers higher, with the end result being a constant and optimistic transportation expertise each time I trip.