THE ‘Knowledge’ was introduced as a requirement for London taxi drivers in 1865 and it’s been baffling aspiring cabbies ever since.
To pass the exam you are expected to know over 25,000 roads, 20,000 famous landmarks and memorise over 300 routes within a six mile radius of Charing Cross.
It typically takes students 3-4 years on average, but it has been known to take decades.
Even those with a mastery of maps on average take more time to become a taxi driver than they would to join the Met Police. And the difference in learning curve is laughable when compared to the time it takes to join the US Police, which can be as frighteningly low as just 16 weeks.
Alternatively, private taxi drivers and Ubers are under no such burden and can rely on modern technology to ferry their guests across the capital, often leading to disastrous consequences.
On one such occasion a 229-mile satnav blunder sent the teenage daughter of Princess Diana’s brother on a six-hour slog to the wrong Stamford Bridge, arriving in Yorkshire rather than Chelsea.
However, such mistakes are rare and for the very large part GPS systems have changed how we navigate the world.
So how does a test first introduced 157 years ago, in a city whose streets haven’t changed dramatically since, stand up against good old Google Maps? (other mapping apps are available).
To come up with the answer two YouTuber’s took to the streets to tackle the toughest taxi test to date.
Tom Scott challenged fellow video maker Tom the Taxi Driver to finally answer the question that has been haunting black cab drivers ever since Sat Nav technology burst on to the scene.
Find out who won in the video below, you’ll be pleased to know that knowledge is power.
If you ‘Adam and Eve’ that you have the skills to navigate the Big Smoke using nothing more than the old ‘Watch and Chain’ then try our London taxi quiz here.
Three Taxi Fun Facts! Did you know?
- A black taxi must possess sufficient height to accommodate a person wearing a bowler hat.
- By law, a taxi is not obligated to provide change.
- Black cabs are the only taxi’s that you can flag down to request a ride. It is against the law for minicabs, Uber cabs, or any other cabs should not stop and if they do, they are technically breaking the law.
