This article in today's NY Times with wonderful photos and videos tells the story of The London Taxi drivers . https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/world/europe/london-black-cab-taxi-driving-test.html?unlocked_article_code=1.308.AU0t.cfV_bOLYE7z1&smid=url-share After reading the article , this excellent drama by the Late Jack Rosenthal ( who wrote with a somewhat Dickensian touch ) tells the story of the London Cabbie with great humor and humanistic insight with his wonderful grasp of human nature - https://youtu.be/oSAAB1ZmudY?si=52l3pOhxuUxbswgq
Posted by
Land of La
9940 posts
For decades I’ve used Black Cabs. For me worth it.
Posted by
London
2157 posts
I've used a black cab twice that I can remember in the 17 or 18 years I've been living in London full time. Both instances on the insistence of my partner at the time.
I was going to go off on one and say how unrepresentative of modern London black cab drivers are, but the article goes some way to debunking that.
edit: I went off on one but thought the better of it :) Suffice to say I'm not a fan.
Posted by
Northern California
96 posts
Thanks for your post, Steven. I've come across other such articles about The Knowledge before. The commitment of time and effort toward the achievement is impressive. I hope Mr Bilalli earns his badge.
Gerry, good thing I looked again before including my response to your original comment to note that you deleted some of your reply. Suffice to say your original reply left me scratching my head. Obviously, you had a well-formed opinion about black cabs and their place in society (if that's not too grand a characterization!) before reading the article, so you read it through that lens. I read it as a profile of one man's determination to meet big challenge and successfully achieve a goal, nothing more nuanced than that. If we were having a coffee and a chat, though, I'm sure I'd learn more.