Ever tried reaching a new restaurant without Google or Apple Maps? Most of us would find it challenging. Now imagine doing it in the middle of the bustling capital city. Black cab drivers do this day in, day out.
We’re taking a closer look at London’s cabbies to find out more about their stories and see if there’s anything we can learn from their lives.
What is ‘The Knowledge’?
London’s road network is one of the most complicated in the world. There are literally thousands of streets, landmarks, and routes to memorise. And it’s the job of a black cab driver to master them all. This is known as ‘The Knowledge’.
Introduced way back in 1865, the ‘Knowledge of London’ test became a requirement for all taxi drivers to complete. Typically, it takes students three or four years to learn and it’s rigorous to say the least.
How can we learn from it?
It got us thinking about what it must be like to really know a city like the back of your hand, because it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years of hard work and multiple assessments including oral and written.
It’s truly inspiring. So to feed our curiosity, we sent our team into the Big Smoke to ride shotgun with black cab drivers to hear about their stories.
Click here to check out our experience chatting to a cabbie and everything we learned.