23: The Knowledge
What if taxi drivers knew this city better than you?
A light-hearted observation really; but it seems that in recent times the average taxi driver in Auckland has a very poor knowledge of destinations and how to get around this city. Is the use of GPS systems just making that worse? Surely drivers should still have the Knowledge? Shouldn’t we expect that driver knowledge be more discerning than GPS and outsmart it when the unexpected happens? Has the deregulation got out of hand?
Stuart Houghton 2014
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77.
Oh, now I wish I knew what James had said, for I cannot think of a question to which 77 is the answer. Would James have said “what is the result of eleven times seven?” somehow I doubt it, but if not that, then what?
comment removed for being boring
The question was “how many of these things are there to go”. James’s comment was deleted for all the “moaning about the editorial direction of the blog” that came before that question.
I was just being a smart-arse, because it says this is a list of 100 things right there in the title. Maths, eh.
Dearest James, must you always be entertained by everything you read on the internet – these 100 ideas are just that … Ideas … We need MORE of them – they exist to provoke thought – something I wish you’d do before posting comments.
Go read something else then: I hear Enid Blyton writes good stuff.
In Sydney a taxi driver took my wife down the wrong way in one of the tunnels! Terrifying apparently.
The old hand taxi drivers on Tokyo are downright amazing. I had one recently on a journey from Tennozu Isle to Ebisu who knew every back street short cut. He got me there in a record 10 minutes! He says he’s never used in-car navigation systems and never will. He never uses a map for anywhere in Tokyo except for the places west of Fuchu. He said that when he started taxi driving back in the early 80s, an old timer made him memorise every main road and side street inside the Yamamote rail line loop, then once he had that down pat, every street and road outside the loop for 20kms!
Auckland taxi drivers could do with a decent dollop of old school street memory training. It would not only make them more knowledgeable but make them better managers of the ‘customer experience’ inside their cabs.
Rob, that really is amazing! 10 minutes is incredible for that significant trip through a busy part of town.
And memorising every street within the Yamanote Line!!! That is utterly amazing, even more so considering that the vast majority of streets have no name (and there are so many little back streets…) You would have to have an amazing memory for maps and dedication to the task.
taxi drivers in Auckland can absolutely not be relied on to know where they are going.
They often seem to barely be able to use their GPS.
You are lucky if they use a GPS. At least you will get the best way to your destination without any revenue enhancing detours.
Quite like this one. Now the the Minister if Tourism can say ‘mission complete’ on cycleways, what better project than raising the engagement of taxi drivers across the nation?
I think this post, and comments above are mostly unfair.
I catch taxis approx fortnightly, usually to minor streets (mackelvie in the picture is a good example)
95% of the time, they not only know where it is, but ask which route I’d prefer
Am I having a lopsided experience, or are the readers of this blog (who i suspect are typically well educated, well remunerated and city based) being rough on a group that are usually shat on anyway?
I’ve had both very good and very bad in Auckland. Worst was a Corporate Cab driver that couldn’t find his way to the NW’n from Takapuna. Totally unexpected.
Same hare — I don;t catch taxi’s all that much but when I do (discount taxis!), I find they know where they are going and take the best route. Besides, I wouldn’t really care if they had to ask someone so long as it didn’t slow things down. If you know a better way, give them directions!
Taxi driving is a shitty, low-paid job. Demanding they know every little back-alley is unfair. And really, who wants to create some high-quality hard to get into racket like they have in London?
It’s not The Knowledge (in London), but I know that taxi drivers in NZ (apart from the ones in small towns, so the vast majority) have to have an Area Knowledge Certificate of the city they operate in. I was talking to a taxi driver the other day and he said that the AKC in Auckland in the Super City includes every taxi rank in the entire Super City (!) If that’s the case, and if drivers are indeed lacking in general route knowledge, then maybe the AKC needs to be re-oriented towards practical route info.
Anyone got any more info about the AKC system?
Oh and FWIW my silliest taxi lack-of-knowledge experience was in Melbourne, a newbie driver went straight through the Bourke St (pedestrian and tram only) Mall. Needless to say, we got pulled up by the police. Oops.
[Section of comment deleted as violation of user guideline 4] this one has relevance for a city in a tourist country.
Deregulation isn’t the problem, it’s the lack of a minimum standard that hampers the industry.
I remember talking to some people in Canberra some time ago. To be a taxi driver there drivers had to undergo a demanding test. They were given a road to travel to and not only had to get there (we’re talking the days prior to GPS) but had to get there via the most economical possibly route. My understanding was that they were fairly strict in terms of passing people.
It’s not really a problem for us locals as we can normally direct drivers but I’d hate to be a tourist in this city relying on taxi drivers to get me from A to B in an economical fashion.