How do taxi drivers remember most streets and places.

[MattA7]

How do taxi drivers (and possibly others such as delivery drivers and emergency service workers) learn and remember where most streets and places are in the city where they work. Especially before the day of sat nav (which most councils still ban taxi drivers from using during the topography test)

 

[najaB]

It's down to familiarity with the area.

 

[ATW Alex 101]

I guess like any other person who drives, you become familiar with the area and you get to know the roads. To the point where you don’t require a sat-nav/map.

I’m not sure regionally, but I know some (if not all) taxi drivers are required to take a test that demonstrates their geographical knowledge of their licensed area. The Knowledge is a test that one training to be a Taxi Driver in London is required to take, for example.

 

[Gloster]

The parts of the taxi driver’s brains used for memory increase in size during their period of learning, although this may have a counterweight in a deterioration in other tasks. There have been various studies in recent years because of the hope that this may be of help in dealing with Alzheimer’s.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

"The Knowledge" goes a bit beyond good memory. Is it really possible, if so how? London is so big, there must be changes every week! Do the taxi drivers learn those too?

 

[MattA7]

"The Knowledge" goes a bit beyond good memory. Is it really possible, if so how? London is so big, there must be changes every week! Do the taxi drivers learn those too?

I believe that the London taxi knowledge test can take around 5 years to eventually pass and often has courses specifically for those wanting to be London cabbies. Not sure about other cities that aren’t as big as London but still big eg Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow etc

 

[pdq]

Given the number of times I've had to give directions, I reckon taxi drivers (minicab) in my area don't have a clue about their area.

 

[Bald Rick]

The parts of the taxi driver’s brains used for memory increase in size during their period of learning, although this may have a counterweight in a deterioration in other tasks. There have been various studies in recent years because of the hope that this may be of help in dealing with Alzheimer’s.

Indeed, a typical study in the subject can be found here https://www.pnas.org/content/97/8/4398

Extract of Abstract below:

Structural MRIs of the brains of humans with extensive navigation experience, licensed London taxi drivers, were analyzed and compared with those of control subjects who did not drive taxis. The posterior hippocampi of taxi drivers were significantly larger relative to those of control subjects. A more anterior hippocampal region was larger in control subjects than in taxi drivers. Hippocampal volume correlated with the amount of time spent as a taxi driver (positively in the posterior and negatively in the anterior hippocampus). These data are in accordance with the idea that the posterior hippocampus stores a spatial representation of the environment and can expand regionally to accommodate elaboration of this representation in people with a high dependence on navigational skills. It seems that there is a capacity for local plastic change in the structure of the healthy adult human brain in response to environmental demands.

"The Knowledge" goes a bit beyond good memory. Is it really possible, if so how? London is so big, there must be changes every week! Do the taxi drivers learn those too?

Takes 2 years full time study. Need to know every main road within 6 miles of Charing Cross, plus buildings of interest and key features.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Analogous to train drivers I expect who know the position of every signal, and other points of interest/note on their route

The hippocampi (there are 2) are located in the brain temporal lobes and are crucial for learning and memory. Larger hippocampi means a bigger memory or "reference library"

 

[najaB]

Analogous to train drivers I expect who know the position of every signal, and other points of interest/note on their route

Similar, but different in that a rail route is about remembering a linear sequence, but most towns aren't particularly linear.

 

[GusB]

I've always found it easy to familiarise myself with the immediate local area simply by walking around. When I was a kid I delivered leaflets for a local convenience store, and while I already knew the layout of the streets in the village, I quickly got to know each house; how the gate worked, the location of the letterbox, the size of the letterbox, whether it had brushes behind it and whether or not my delivery would be assisted by a dog behind the door!

Whenever I've moved to a new location I've always found that I could pick up the immediate local geography simply by walking around. The names of streets, shops etc. quite quickly become familiar, especially if they are slightly unusual. Obviously this isn't going to work when trying to learn a big town or city, but even travelling around by bus can give you a general idea of the main arteries.

I've never driven a taxi, but I did work in a booking office, initially as a call handler and gradually taking on controller duties. While we didn't have to learn all the street names (it was all computerised), I found that when it came to certain areas there was often a theme. Using Aberdeen as an example, there is Hilton Drive, Hilton Avenue etc, with smaller similarly-named streets leading off those. In another part of the city there are names like Eday Road, Gairsay Road, Stronsay Drive and Ronaldsay Road.

A while back there was a documentary that followed a few prospective London cabbies who going through the process of doing The Knowledge. From memory, there was one who used a moped as their means to get around while familiarising themselves with the city.

 

[Ediswan]

A while back there was a documentary that followed a few prospective London cabbies who going through the process of doing The Knowledge. From memory, there was one who used a moped as their means to get around while familiarising themselves with the city.

Aspiring London cab drivers riding round on a moped with a clipboard mounted up front is a common sight.

 

[miklcct]

I've always found it easy to familiarise myself with the immediate local area simply by walking around. When I was a kid I delivered leaflets for a local convenience store, and while I already knew the layout of the streets in the village, I quickly got to know each house; how the gate worked, the location of the letterbox, the size of the letterbox, whether it had brushes behind it and whether or not my delivery would be assisted by a dog behind the door!

Whenever I've moved to a new location I've always found that I could pick up the immediate local geography simply by walking around. The names of streets, shops etc. quite quickly become familiar, especially if they are slightly unusual. Obviously this isn't going to work when trying to learn a big town or city, but even travelling around by bus can give you a general idea of the main arteries.

I've never driven a taxi, but I did work in a booking office, initially as a call handler and gradually taking on controller duties. While we didn't have to learn all the street names (it was all computerised), I found that when it came to certain areas there was often a theme. Using Aberdeen as an example, there is Hilton Drive, Hilton Avenue etc, with smaller similarly-named streets leading off those. In another part of the city there are names like Eday Road, Gairsay Road, Stronsay Drive and Ronaldsay Road.

A while back there was a documentary that followed a few prospective London cabbies who going through the process of doing The Knowledge. From memory, there was one who used a moped as their means to get around while familiarising themselves with the city.

I am only familiar with the places where buses serve, or connected by trunk roads. Outside bus routes / trunk roads I find it hard to recognise places and rely on a map.

When I drove a taxi in Hong Kong, I highly preferred the Island compared to Kowloon as it was generally linear on the Island and easier to recognise despite I lived in Kowloon.

 

[Cloud Strife]

"The Knowledge" goes a bit beyond good memory. Is it really possible, if so how? London is so big, there must be changes every week! Do the taxi drivers learn those too?

I know one London cabbie, and he said that it was nothing but an endless slog. He would drive round on a scooter, but he would also walk around and take copious notes. He would then go home and rewrite his notes, while constantly testing himself with the help of his wife. He had a lot of setbacks, but the nature of the "appearances" meant that he always felt comfortable and able to continue studying. If he did badly, he was encouraged by the examiner to go back and learn more, and the examiners would also provide helpful hints and clues.

He said the trick was to be systematic about it. If he was on the scooter, then he would drive the same route reciting everything that was coming up next.

The examiners themselves expected you to be aware of changes, but within reason. If a pub had changed name in the last couple of weeks, they wouldn't hold it against you, but you'd be expected to know of a change of name that happened six months ago.

 

[AlbertBeale]

Given the number of times I've had to give directions, I reckon taxi drivers (minicab) in my area don't have a clue about their area.

I don't know about elsewhere, but in London the difference between taxi drivers and minicab drivers is like chalk and cheese. The former are professionals who know their job; the latter can only (at best) follow instructions from a machine. On the odd occasions I take a taxi in London, if I've been tempted to explain where I'm going and the way there, saying something like "If you know where I mean", I've always felt foolish by the way they explain where I'm going better than I could.

 

[JohnMcL7]

Before the days of sat nav I did a bit of pizza delivery driving in my home city which I knew fairly well but still needed a bit of help from a map for some street names I didn't know but within a few weeks I didn't need the map, you pick it up quite quickly. A couple of the drivers were planning to go onto taxi driving which made sense to take advantage of the knowledge they'd gained through the pizza delivery.

 

[Cloud Strife]

but in London the difference between taxi drivers and minicab drivers is like chalk and cheese.

I once got a free minicab ride after the bloke got hopelessly lost. I knew that he'd got lost by his sudden movements and unpredictable driving, so when he arrived, I told him straight out that I wouldn't be giving him the fare. He started to argue the toss, but I explained to him that the receipt would show that he'd charged far more than was appropriate for the journey and that I could take it further if he wanted. He didn't argue, which was just as well, as I was more than ready to get the police involved.

On the rare occasion that someone else has been paying for a taxi in London, you can tell the difference immediately. I remember one run to Heathrow that must have taken an extraordinary amount of back streets, yet the driver kept the car moving and we didn't get stuck in traffic once.

 

[Ste37]

I drive a taxi driver in the wigan area.knowledge test comprises of road laws, places of interest and a serious of routes taken from a-b including road names, juctions, speed limits etc without the aid of a map book. As time goes by driving in the areas its quick to remember streets etc.

 

[GusB]

I don't know about elsewhere, but in London the difference between taxi drivers and minicab drivers is like chalk and cheese. The former are professionals who know their job; the latter can only (at best) follow instructions from a machine.

It was some time ago, but when I worked in the trade in Aberdeen (I was in the office) it was the same test for a driver regardless of whether they were "hackney" or private hire. The main difference was the colour of the plate and the pickup rules they had to follow.

I believe it's the same where I live now.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jul 2022 ==

On the rare occasion that someone else has been paying for a taxi in London, you can tell the difference immediately. I remember one run to Heathrow that must have taken an extraordinary amount of back streets, yet the driver kept the car moving and we didn't get stuck in traffic once.

I've known people get upset because they think a driver has taken them on a bit of a mystery tour, but it can work out in the customer's favour if the overall charge for the distance is less than the wait time that would have been charged if they'd been stuck in traffic on a more direct route.

I can't recall exactly what the cut-off point was, but once the meter detected that the car was going below a certain speed it switched from distance charging to time charging.

 

[AlbertBeale]

It was some time ago, but when I worked in the trade in Aberdeen (I was in the office) it was the same test for a driver regardless of whether they were "hackney" or private hire. The main difference was the colour of the plate and the pickup rules they had to follow.

I believe it's the same where I live now.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jul 2022 ==

It's certainly not the case in London!

 

[87electric]

Route knowledge. Not taxi related but I’d like to share.
The National Express coach driver (London Vic to Peterborough journey) asked me to sit with him as he did not know the route. I declined, and he got 2 old ladies to guide him. This was 2019.
I hope this was a one off.

 

[py_megapixel]

Route knowledge. Not taxi related but I’d like to share.
The National Express coach driver (London Vic to Peterborough journey) asked me to sit with him as he did not know the route. I declined, and he got 2 old ladies to guide him. This was 2019.
I hope this was a one off.

For London-Peterborough he should surely have been able to just use the motorway signs!

 

[najaB]

For London-Peterborough he should surely have been able to just use the motorway signs!

Perhaps it was either end of the route (to/from the motorway) that he wasn't familiar with?

 

[route101]

Route knowledge. Not taxi related but I’d like to share.
The National Express coach driver (London Vic to Peterborough journey) asked me to sit with him as he did not know the route. I declined, and he got 2 old ladies to guide him. This was 2019.
I hope this was a one off.

A1 (m), NX do not serve this route anymore. I do the notice the difference between a Black Hackney and a Uber driver. The Uber driver is reliant on the sat nav whereas the Black Hack driver will just know where to go.

 

[sprunt]

Perhaps it was either end of the route (to/from the motorway) that he wasn't familiar with?

That's probably it. I once caught a coach from Victoria coach station to a music festival in Suffolk and the driver cheerfully admitted over the tannoy that he didn't have a clue how to get from the coach station to the motorway, and ended up driving down the A2 to Dartford and back over the bridge, adding an annoying unnecessary extra hour to the journey.

 

[E27007]

The capacity of the human brain is truly remarkable, a relative worked in the Royal Mail Sorting Office, a major hub for UK mail and is located in St Pauls London.
Mail without a postcode is known as "blind" mail, and was processed and corrected by a team of Sorters with a computer to look up the postcode from the address.
Between them, the team of Sorters of the blind mail had amassed such deep knowledge of postcodes to addresses, the computer became a backup,
If one of the men were stumped by an item, he would call out the address and others Sorters would respond with the answer.
Those Sorters were legends to the Postmen in the Office

 

[GusB]

The capacity of the human brain is truly remarkable, a relative worked in the Royal Mail Sorting Office, a major hub for UK mail and is located in St Pauls London.
Mail without a postcode is known as "blind" mail, and was processed and corrected by a team of Sorters with a computer to look up the postcode from the address.
Between them, the team of Sorters of the blind mail had amassed such deep knowledge of postcodes to addresses, the computer became a backup,
If one of the men were stumped by an item, he would call out the address and others Sorters would respond with the answer.
Those Sorters were legends to the Postmen in the Office

I agree with this completely. When someone does a job that involves a high level of routine, it's very easy to spot when something is slightly out of the ordinary. My situation was slightly different. I did a spell at a BT directory enquiries call centre; it was monotonous and robotic for most of the time, but most of the job satisfaction came from when I received an enquiry that was out of the ordinary. I was technically agency staff, but I reckon that I had the benefit of more than 100 years of combined experience from the older staff that I worked with, and they were absolute gems to work with, despite having their own terms and conditions degraded over the years.

I once had a call from an elderly lady in Fraserburgh who asked for the number of "Alexander's Buses" in said town. If that call had come through to any of my younger colleagues, they'd have put the request through the system and it would have returned "No Trace"; they would not have been penalised for returning no number because they delivered what was asked for. Having a bit of local knowledge (and obviously having an interest in buses!) made sure that she was given the correct number.

Back on topic, the only real way to get a feel for a particular area is to get out and about. Call me a Luddite if you will, but the most efficient method is to get on your feet and have a walk around.

 

[PeterC]

Back on topic, the only real way to get a feel for a particular area is to get out and about. Call me a Luddite if you will, but the most efficient method is to get on your feet and have a walk around.

I agree to a point but you alao need to use a vehicle to learn how to navigate the area on 4 wheels.

A case in point was a discussion with a friend about taking her daughter and luggage to ner new university next month. I could walk to her college from almost any part of Oxford without much trouble but there was no way that I could visualise how to navigate the one way systems ZEZ and various areas of pedestrianisation without resorting to a map.

 

[william.martin]

London taxis: All London black cab drivers undergo an extensive training course - though of course they may use a sat nav where necessary.

Delivery drivers: They simply use sat navs, though if it a local delivery driver they are likely to learn a lot of roads purely from experience.