The Knowledge

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. — London Taxi and Private Hire (LTPH)

To become a taxi cab driver in London, you must first take a state administered test.

This test has been coined the hardest in the world.

There are over 25,000 streets and alleyways in London that perspective taxi drivers have to memorize.

This fool’s errand is referred to as The Knowledge.

The question is: In the digital age, why are we still making cab driver’s take such a monster of a test?

Mastery.

Mastery of knowing every detail, every part of your craft. Knowing what the street name is unnecessary with GPS. But having someone that is willing to dedicate so many hours, so many years to their art is hard to find.