London cabbies prefer The Knowledge to sat-nav
The Register reports that London cabbies have been very slow to take up satellite navigation systems in their cabs, despite now being allowed to use the devices. Instead they prefer to rely on their good old fashioned Knowledge.
Only 4-5% of cabbies have taken on the technology. General Secretary of the London Taxi Drivers’ Association, Bob Oddy, said that sat nav was more likely to be used by cabbies doing airport runs or in the London suburbs, rather than those in central London. He also said that the machines might be good, but they didn’t match the knowledge and experience of a good cabbie.
One driver, David Jacobs, said that the machines weren’t easy enough to use to warrant learning to use them, given that most taxi drivers drive by second nature after a while.
So, expect your cheery taxi driver to take his own route rather than rely on a computer for quite some time to come.
