"Euston station please mate."
Have you ever thought about how taxi drivers know where to go? It's easy to assume it's all with the help of a Sat Nav, but that's not necessarily the case when it comes to black cab drivers.
Far from just typing a destination into Google Maps, cabbie Trevor Bickles has explained how he spent more than four years learning hundreds of different routes, roads and landmarks which form the 'Knowledge of London'.
Advert
Trevor is now 41 years old and has been a taxi driver in London for more than six years, spending every day enjoying 'one of the most beautiful things about the job' - being able to go wherever the wind takes him.
He doesn't have any set hours, and instead can start and end when he likes, in turn racking up as many fares as he fancies each day.
Trevor told LADbible: "I'll work for between eight to 10 hours a day, take a little break halfway through for a cup of tea, a bite to eat, or I like to put myself in a rank because it's slow so I can rest and then get a fare."
"It's one of most spontaneous jobs I've ever experienced," Trevor continued. "Because it could be anything. I could pick up anyone, genuinely, from a drug dealer... to then I've had the likes of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the cab. It really is such a diverse job, and anything's possible."
Advert
Obviously Trevor also picks up a lot of people who aren't drug dealers or archbishops, and he believes the job has allowed him to encounter 'every different demographic of life'.
It's one of reasons he loves the job so much; hearing from all of these people has taught him 'a lot', but he's also become a source of wisdom himself.
In fact, Trevor thinks more people should listen to cab drivers, because they're the 'eyes and ears of the world'.
Advert
"We see and hear things before a lot of people. People talk to cabbies," he explained. "The good part about dealing with the public is that I've learned a lot about things, and life, and people."
It sounds great - but let's be honest, we all know that people can be d**ks, too.
"I've had instances where I've had people lose their rag in the cab," Trevor said. He's often also blamed for traffic, and for not being able to magically teleport from one place to another.
Trevor explained: "The one that always makes me laugh, right, is when a passenger gets to my cab and they'll go, 'How long will it take to get to Heathrow?'
Advert
"I'll say, 'in this traffic, you're talking an hour'. And they'll go, 'can you do it in 20?'
"[I'm like] 'No. No, because I've left my wings indoors.' Then they look at me like I'm the one in the wrong."
Listening to all of the people in his cab, Trevor has heard about politics, romances, scandals and everything in between, but in spite of all the interaction he has, he admitted it can also be an isolating career.
Advert
Unlike other jobs, Trevor pointed out he can't vent to other staff over the desk, or go out for a drink after a day in the office.
"The isolation can sometimes be a bit hard, if you're driving around in this box on your own all day," he said. Thankfully, though, Trevor has found a 'work-husband' in a friend he went to school with, who also works as a cabbie.
While some aspects of the career take their toll, Trevor made one thing clear: "I genuinely love my job."
It was both the freedom of the job and the 'iconic' air that surrounds black cabs that first drew Trevor to the role, but becoming a qualified black cab driver is no easy feat.
Back in 1865, the 'Knowledge of London' was introduced as a requirement for taxi drivers in the city, demanding that they learn hundreds of preset rounds within a six mile radius of Charing Cross station.
"You've got to learn them front to back," Trevor told LADbible, "And also within a quarter mile radius of each start point, and the quickest route."
"It doesn't just test your roads, it tests you on your personality. Examiners will put you through the wringer because you're going get passengers [who do] that in the cab - they want to see your reaction," he added.
It definitely doesn't sound like your average driving test, but Trevor said the pressure surrounding the test only makes the qualification sweeter.
"Because we've actually had to go through such rigorous testing to get there, it's more than just a job for us - [at least] for me personally. It's a lifestyle," he admitted.
It's this testing, combined with the confidence of being able to navigate London's busy streets, that leads Trevor to believe that being a black cab driver requires 'balls of steel, [the] brains of a scientist, and a lot of patience'.
"I think patience is a big thing," he said. "It's hard when you've had a tough day, you're tired, or you've just had a narky passenger - you've got to keep that patience."
As well as getting passengers from A to B, Trevor has found a way to entertain people by launching a TikTok channel about his job, as well as performing stand up comedy.
He admitted he'd be a 'fool' not to pursue the latter if the opportunity came up, but the beauty of being a black cab driver is that he can 'dip in and out of it' whenever he wants.
With that in mind, he knows he's in it for life.
"I'll never leave it 'til the day I die," he said. "I worked too hard to get my badge to ever leave this. So that's very special to me that badge. Very, very special."
Topics: Cars, UK News, Why I Do What I Do
.jpg)
Emily Brown