Originally Posted by Willclark
I drove a taxi for a few years and was required to go through a 2 week course plus pass a written exam. It was not as easy as people think.
Its not London at least! Hippocampus grows there it's so brutal.......
"The examination to become a London cabby is possibly the most difficult test in the world — demanding years of study to memorize the labyrinthine city's 25,000 streets and any business or landmark on them. As GPS and Uber imperil this tradition, is there an argument for learning as an end in itself? ... The posterior hippocampus, the area of the brain known to be important for memory, is bigger in London taxi drivers than in most people." --
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/10/t-magazine/london-taxi-test-knowledge.html
Originally Posted by Willclark
Plus, I went through an extensive city background check. I see Uber drivers on the news getting into all sorts of criminal mischief.
Some of that has been young drivers who are just finding their "groove" as a criminal sleazy-type. Older drivers with records are banned at least. .. Example: Young Uber driver picks up someone at their house/apt., takes them to the airport, and the developing criminal gets the idea they are going to go back and clean out the empty house/apt. That's happened several times.
Also, foreigners from 3rd world countries where records are not kept
don't have a record even though they might have been bad-arses in their civil wars back home. ....
Originally Posted by Willclark
A GPS or driving app can only help you so much in major cities like Chicago, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, ect...
This is true. Special road rules, drop-off & pick-up spots in crowded city areas can be tricky unless you experience it over and over. Experience & willingness to apply yourself and learn are the keys. Uber-Lyft drivers can get this experience, though it not always happens.
---------------------------------------------------
Everybody I've ever talked to over the last 40 years about taxis has had bad experiences to share. Smelly taxis, unsafe driving, rudeness, cab companies themselves are obnoxious jerks with very little incentive to provide good customer service or smartphone app dispatch.