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Hello Londoners, I am a black cab driver (Green Badge) and I come in peace

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Re: Hello Londoners, I am a black cab driver (Green Badge) and I come in peace

#21

Post by chimeracoder »

katpas wrote: post #6
drfuchs wrote: post #2

You might want to explain to Americans that a "black cab driver" isn't what first comes to mind for them (especially as juxtaposed with "and I come in peace"). It might also be worth a mention what "Green Badge" means.

You have cabs in NYC though - is it similar? In London the city controls the number of people that can operate black cabs, sets a standard tariff for fares and runs background and license checks. They can be hailed off the street (though also through some apps). And the drivers have to take "The knowledge"[1] a test which takes a few years to pass and means you can give the average cab driver any street name and they…

> You have cabs in NYC though - is it similar? In London the city controls the number of people that can operate black cabs, sets a standard tariff for fares and runs background and license checks. They can be hailed off the street (though also through some apps). And the drivers have to take "The knowledge"[1] a test which takes a few years to pass and means you can give the average cab driver any street name and they can get you there without a GPS.

In New York City, cabs that have medallions for street hails are referred to colloquially as "yellow cabs" and those which do not are referred to as "black cabs" (more properly: "livery cab"). Both yellow cabs and black cabs are regulated by the TLC, but black cabs are not allowed to pick people up off the street. Instead, you have to call the company to arrange a pickup (using a mobile app qualifies as "calling" for this purpose).

Uber, Lyft, Juno, etc. are all regulated in New York City as black cab services, which means they can't take street hails, but they operate otherwise identically to all other non-medallion black cab services, with TLC-licensed drivers.

Re: Hello Londoners, I am a black cab driver (Green Badge) and I come in peace

#22

Post by the_d00d »

All the confusion from Americans is totally understandable. That being said, the title addressed his audience...Londoners. Comments suggesting a title change, so that people he wasn't intending to talk to can understand, is expecting too much. If the topic interests you, take the time to read for more context, maybe even ask, or research it.

Re: Hello Londoners, I am a black cab driver (Green Badge) and I come in peace

#23

Post by dnautics »

ashark wrote: post #17
michaelbuckbee wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pre GPS it was a requirement that cabbies have a massive list of places and routes through London memorized (that guy taking 3.5 years to study and pass the entrance exam is pretty par for the course). There's a 1996 documentary on the process that's pretty interesting - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvFKh_3evC8 Separately, this is the kind of non robots doing manufacturing automation that I think it's important to…

I think anyone who’s Ubered much (or driven much, for that matter) can tell you GPS is not nearly as good as knowing the streets. It may be good enough that it’ll take over, but it’s still a lot worse.

GPS is better in that there's accountability. For complex cities, as a driver you can really screw over a passenger by taking a convoluted route. As a passenger, you can watch the driver leave the GPS route (or get a trip report) and know that you've been (or are being) screwed.

Re: Hello Londoners, I am a black cab driver (Green Badge) and I come in peace

#25

Post by callumlocke »

colanderman wrote: post #16
TranceMan wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, maybe the title could be editorialized in this case. I was browsing the /r/London subreddit so assumed too much context for a global forum

Agreed, "I drive a black cab" would be much clearer for us Yanks. I assumed it was a race thing too.

Would you be OK with me asking you to avoid using a standard U.S. English phrase so it's clearer for us Brits?

"Black cab driver" is part of our lexicon. It carries a lot of cultural meaning, and it's always phrased like that. You briefly misunderstood it as race-related, then you learned what it means. I don't see a reason to change anything.

Re: Hello Londoners, I am a black cab driver (Green Badge) and I come in peace

#26

Post by dghf »

drfuchs wrote: post #2

You might want to explain to Americans that a "black cab driver" isn't what first comes to mind for them (especially as juxtaposed with "and I come in peace"). It might also be worth a mention what "Green Badge" means.

This is a perfect example of where the judicious use of a hyphen would bring clarity ("black-cab driver" vs "black cab-driver").

Re: Hello Londoners, I am a black cab driver (Green Badge) and I come in peace

#27

Post by katpas »

chimeracoder wrote: post #21
katpas wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have cabs in NYC though - is it similar? In London the city controls the number of people that can operate black cabs, sets a standard tariff for fares and runs background and license checks. They can be hailed off the street (though also through some apps). And the drivers have to take "The knowledge"[1] a test which takes a few years to pass and means you can give the average cab driver any street name and they…

> You have cabs in NYC though - is it similar? In London the city controls the number of people that can operate black cabs, sets a standard tariff for fares and runs background and license checks. They can be hailed off the street (though also through some apps). And the drivers have to take "The knowledge"[1] a test which takes a few years to pass and means you can give the average cab driver any street name and th…

Oh interesting. OK, so the comparable is London black cabs and new york yellow cabs.

Re: Hello Londoners, I am a black cab driver (Green Badge) and I come in peace

#28

Post by parent5446 »

mikeash wrote: post #18
zaphar wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a white, U.S. born, citizen and I read it the first way not the second. The context of "Hello Londoners" makes it pretty clear.

It will be clear to anyone who’s heard of London’s black cabs (which I’m sure is a lot of people) but it’s probably damn confusing for those who haven’t.

I'm not so sure. I didn't know what London black cabs were and I still read it as (black cab) driver. I just assumed black cabs meant something like black car cabs, e.g., Uber SUV.

Re: Hello Londoners, I am a black cab driver (Green Badge) and I come in peace

#29

Post by jazoom »

the_d00d wrote: post #22

All the confusion from Americans is totally understandable. That being said, the title addressed his audience...Londoners. Comments suggesting a title change, so that people he wasn't intending to talk to can understand, is expecting too much. If the topic interests you, take the time to read for more context, maybe even ask, or research it.

We're very progressive in Australia. We have Black & White cab drivers.

Re: Hello Londoners, I am a black cab driver (Green Badge) and I come in peace

#30

Post by colanderman »

callumlocke wrote: post #25
colanderman wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, "I drive a black cab" would be much clearer for us Yanks. I assumed it was a race thing too.

Would you be OK with me asking you to avoid using a standard U.S. English phrase so it's clearer for us Brits? "Black cab driver" is part of our lexicon. It carries a lot of cultural meaning, and it's always phrased like that. You briefly misunderstood it as race-related, then you learned what it means. I don't see a reason to change anything.

Yes, I would be OK with that.
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