They call that "The Knowledge" and it was so hard to do that they actually did brain studies of London taxi drivers and found that their brains grew as they gained the Knowledge.
Only part of the brain ‘grew’. Another part ‘shrank’.
They call that “The Knowledge” and it was so hard to do that they actually did brain studies of London taxi drivers and found that their brains grew as they gained the Knowledge.
I believe that is still around, but it is only for the traditional taxi cabs that you hail down on the street or get from a taxi cab rank.
A lot more people use mini-cab services which you have to telephone and they come to you.
Typical one - http://www.londoncabs.co.uk/
This is really the competition to Uber and IIRC the mini-cab prices were quite similar in other UK cities. What Uber gives is a much better smartphone interface, on-line tracking, remote payment with no cash to the driver involved, and usually much nicer cars.