It Takes About as Long to Become a Certified London Cab Driver as it Does to Earn a Doctorate from Oxford
There are two kinds of ‘Black Cab’ drivers, as they’re colloquially known: ‘All London’ drivers, who cover the entire city, and ‘Suburban’ drivers, who are only authorized to work, as the name suggests, in just one of its nine suburban sectors. Pretty self explanatory.
The comprehensive guidebook issued to these prospective cabbies by London Taxi and Private Hire (LTPH), which oversees the whole deal, summarizes the process to become an All London driver like this:
‘To achieve the required standard to be licensed as an “All London” taxi driver you will need a thorough knowledge, primarily, of the area within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross. You will need to know: all the streets; housing estates; parks and open spaces; government offices and departments; financial and commercial centres; diplomatic premises; town halls; registry offices; hospitals; places of worship; sports stadiums and leisure centres; airline offices; stations; hotels; clubs; theatres; cinemas; museums; art galleries; schools; colleges and universities; police stations and headquarters buildings; civil, criminal and coroner’s courts; prisons; and places of interest to tourists. In fact, anywhere a taxi passenger might ask to be taken.’
‘This Guide to Learning the Knowledge of London has become known as the ‘Blue Book,’ and provides the basis from which to work.’
It lays out 320 different snaking routes through the city’s 25,000+ streets called ‘runs’ that applicants must have an encyclopedic understanding of in order to pass the rigorous licensing exam, officially known as ‘The Knowledge.’
The test has seven stages:
1: The Self Examination - An unrecorded test of the prospect’s knowledge of the first 80 runs listed in the book. It has to be completed within the first 6 months of applying.
2: The Written Examination - A series of 30 multiple choice questions testing the prospect’s understanding of the 320 runs.
3-5: Appearances - A series of one-on-one interviews consisting of four questions each about the shortest route between any two points in London. It’s probably the most important of the stages.
The interviews are meant to gauge not only the driver’s ability to quickly and coherently describe the shortest, most efficient route from one place to the next, but also alternative routes and shortcuts to those places. It even tests their memory of even the most obscure physical details along the course each route. For instance, they’re are asked to recall, exactly:
The positioning and content of random street signs
The designs and layouts of restaurant facades and storefronts
The specific details and idiosyncrasies of statues and commemorative plaques lining the many bridges that cross the Thames
The titles advertised on the marquis of theaters both big and small
The specific locations and content of individual flowerpots and flags.
6: Suburban Examination - A test of the driver’s knowledge of London’s suburban streets, obviously.
If you slip up too many times along the way, that’s it. No license for you, and you have to start the process all over again. But, if you manage to get through all of it okay:
7: License application and pre-licensing talk (LTPH site):
‘Well done! You can make the final application for the issue of your licence. You will then join a group of other successful candidates to receive advice about your responsibilities as a taxi driver from a Knowledge of London examiner. You will also be given your badge and license at the talk.’
All told, it takes about four years to get to that point, around as long as it takes to get a PhD from Oxford, a place that, because it’s 50 miles or so from the nearest edge of Greater London, Black Cab drivers will never have to take anyone to…
Obviously you’re going to need prior qualifications in a few of these cases, but, just for fun, here some jobs with a shorter certification process:
Commercial Airline Pilot: 18-24 months
Air Traffic Controller: 1 1/2 to 3 years depending on the country
American Paramedic: 1-2 years
Navy SEAL: 1 1/2 to 2 years
American Firefighter: 6 months to a year
American Police Officer: 6 months to a year
Russian Cosmonaut: 1 1/2 years (basic training)
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