News about Mick Ford

Since applications for The Knowledge tripled in two years, London black cabbies could be up for revival, despite concerns that the world's toughest taxi exam may be ruled out. Drivers must memorise 25,000 streets and 100,000 landmarks within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross, 1865. Successful applicants must go through 320 routes and seven stages, with up to a dozen interviews having to be approved during a process that can take up to four years. However, fears have been raised in recent years that the test will have been extinct, with applicants down 94 percent in a decade from 3,000 in 2012 to just 174 in 2021. But figures are now up, with the 2023 total hitting 579, up three years from two years ago, and much higher than the previous pre-pandemic number of 356 in 2019. The rise seems to be owing in part to the freetravel app FreeNow's initiative, which allows passengers to hail private hire cars similar to Uber but also black cabs. The German-based company is giving a voucher to finish the exam, which can cost people up to £10,000.