Taxi driver's knowledge levels

Oranage2

Kiera wrote: »

So tell me why its ok to identify the colour or race of someone driving a taxi?

The white girl in Tesco was rude

nothin wrong with that sentence is there

BBDBB

Oranage2 wrote: »

The white girl in Tesco was rude

nothin wrong with that sentence is there

what does her skin colour have to do with her behaviour?

amdublin

Oranage2 wrote: »

The white girl in Tesco was rude

nothin wrong with that sentence is there

Why would you mention the colour of her skin at all

What bearing does it have on her actions?

Kiera

Oranage2 wrote: »

The white girl in Tesco was rude

nothin wrong with that sentence is there

Da fúck? Why would you mention her skin colour? That's just weird!

"the white butcher only gave me 4 chops instead of 5"

"the white teacher gave out in class"

"the white postman delivered the wrong post to my house"

Weird!

LighterGuy

This world is becoming mental.
Are we honestly not allowed to refer to someone as "black" under no circumstances?

So im in a job. Someone asks me where they can find Michael (or what ever name) and what does he look like... I go erm "about tall ... erm ... dark hair... erm ... wearing a red tshirt you cant miss him! " :rolleyes: god forbid if I say "black chap wearing a red shirt"

Feisar

How come this thread isn't being pulled as being completely off topic

LighterGuy

Feisar wrote: »

How come this thread isn't being pulled as being completely off topic

Yeah I know what you mean.
Reminds me of this time i was in galway ... blah blah blah. Now we're talking about galway. lol.

Kiera

Feisar wrote: »

How come this thread isn't being pulled as being completely off topic

Cause the OP's question was answered and now a new topic has taken over.

amdublin

LighterGuy wrote: »

This world is becoming mental.
Are we honestly not allowed to refer to someone as "black" under no circumstances?

So im in a job. Someone asks me where they can find Michael (or what ever name) and what does he look like... I go erm "about tall ... erm ... dark hair... erm ... wearing a red tshirt you cant miss him! " :rolleyes: god forbid if I say "black chap wearing a red shirt"

I do understand the above. It is difficult to get used to but I certainly would try to avoid it....

bUT if you end up doing it in the above example I don't think it is the worst I the world.

It is when people say things like jeez I had a bad experience with a black taxi driver last night and it turns into a big rant about yeah how bad black taxi drivers are :rolleyes:

laoch na mona

when i was doing my theory there was two middle aged taxi drivers who had to do the taxi one to get the new licence and they had to no all the roads in Tipperary not just south tipp where they worked so they have to know a lot considering very few people would be getting a taxi from clonmel to north tipp

Seans_Username

Kiera wrote: »

So tell me why its ok to identify the colour or race of someone driving a taxi?

probably because when most people see a person of a differnet race they would assume that they were not born and bred in this country. Its not racist. There's nothing wrong with assuming a black person isn't from Ireland seeing as Ireland is a predominantly white country (hard to believe, I know!)

Now, on topic, a taxi driver is exected to know the ins-and-outs of a local area. Many don't know every little inch but they'll know what they have to. So when a taxi driver is not a local or is not from the area originally, you might assume that they don't know the area that well... Such as this:

Oranage2 wrote: »

Last week I asked a black taxi driver to take me to Coolock and he asked if that was a pub.

That's why race is relevant to taxi drivers..

280special

Feisar wrote: »

How come this thread isn't being pulled as being completely off topic

My thoughts exactly, if it doesnt get back on track I will ask the mods to do so ! I beleive I have that right as the person who started the tread ?

There still however seems to be some confusion as to the regs as regards the test. The "newer " knowledge levels was told to me this evening by a Taxi driver and in fairness he did mention that there was different pass percentage marks for foreign nationals... Is it an urband myth or reality?

And for those who are interested the first experience I outlined was with a non-national, the second was from a very Irish driver, well going by the accent and the cursing anyway !

Kiera

Seans_Username wrote: »

probably because when most people see a person of a differnet race they would assume that they were not born and bred in this country. Its not racist. There's nothing wrong with assuming a black person isn't from Ireland seeing as Ireland is a predominantly white country (hard to believe, I know!)

There are Asian, Indian, white and other taxi drivers out there and never once does their colour get brought into a taxi story. Its always "this black taxi driver" story and its getting fúcking old!

280special

Palmy wrote: »

Being an Ex Dublin Taxi driver,I always gave the customer options on what way they wanted me to go,at differant times of the day or night the easy option is not always the best..EG..2am someone gets in outside of Capitol lounge and my car is heading up towards camden st.They want to go to Stillorgen, I would give them 4 options.

1...Go around the green avoiding camden st and the traffic,pop out the top of lession st then out the N11

2...Try my luck in the traffic up camden st and go around and come out at the top of lession st via adeliade rd..then up the N11

3...Up camden street around up passed the Barge Pub and up through goatstown rd..

4...You can tell me the way you want to go,your the customer.

To be honest its not worth the hassle taking someone the wrong way.I just wanted to take them home and move onto the next fare.

The reason they take you the wrong way is because they dont know where they are going.If someone ever got in and i didnt know i told them i didnt.:o

Good to hear that you did your job the right way !

But lets be realistic here, a job where there was a potential E10 fare, why wouldnt a diversion that would make the fare E13-E15 not be worth while, especially if there wasnt that much of a longer time frame involved ???

amdublin

Seans_Username wrote: »

probably because when most people see a person of a differnet race they would assume that they were not born and bred in this country. Its not racist. There's nothing wrong with assuming a black person isn't from Ireland seeing as Ireland is a predominantly white country (hard to believe, I know!)

Now, on topic, a taxi driver is exected to know the ins-and-outs of a local area. Many don't know every little inch but they'll know what they have to. So when a taxi driver is not a local or is not from the area originally, you might assume that they don't know the area that well... Such as this:


That's why race is relevant to taxi drivers..

There are babies with all different skin colours being born right at this moment in hospitals all over Ireland.

Colour of skin does not indicate you are not from Ireland

AgileMyth

Dean09 wrote: »

You'll be slaughtered for that one.

Ah here, they're not all murderers..

nibtrix

There still however seems to be some confusion as to the regs as regards the test. The "newer " knowledge levels was told to me this evening by a Taxi driver and in fairness he did mention that there was different pass percentage marks for foreign nationals... Is it an urband myth or reality?

I think this is a case of people mixing up pass marks - as in you need 80% in the exam to pass - and pass rates, as in 75% of ALL people who take the test pass, 50% of foreign-born people who take the test pass. (examples only)

Regarding the automatic assumption that black taxi drivers are African, as opposed to Irish, the fact of the matter is that there must be very few black taxi drivers working in Ireland who were actually born in Ireland. 30 years ago, hell even 20 years ago, it was still a shock to see a black person - and I grew up in a town very near Dublin, not somewhere in the middle of the countryside that was that last place to see a foreign-born person in Ireland.

That fact of the matter is that unless you grew up in the area you are driving a taxi in, or have lived there for a very long time, you are less likely to know where every town/street/area of the city is. Unfortunately, on average, a black taxi driver is less likely to know the area than a white taxi driver. I don't think it's racist to say that. I'm sure people will corrected if they think I'm wrong!

nibtrix

amdublin wrote: »

There are babies with all different skin colours being born right at this moment in hospitals all over Ireland.

Colour of skin does not indicate you are not from Ireland

But if you are 30+, or even 20+, it kind of does. 30 years ago there were very few black or asian people living in Ireland, so if you see a black or asian person in Ireland, who is clearly over 30 or even 25ish, chances are they were born out of this country. This doesn't mean they are a bad taxi driver, but it does mean they have less chance of having grown up in the area they are driving in and having an indepth knowledge of the smaller streets and areas.

Seans_Username

Kiera wrote: »

There are Asian, Indian, white and other taxi drivers out there and never once does their colour get brought into a taxi story. Its always "this black taxi driver" story and its getting fúcking old!

i know what ya mean, but thats because after white taxi drivers, black ones are more than likely the most common. thats just the way it is, sadly. but in fairness, i can't really ever remember seeing many indian or asian taxi drivers

amdublin wrote: »

There are babies with all different skin colours being born right at this moment in hospitals all over Ireland.

Colour of skin does not indicate you are not from Ireland

are they old enough to drive taxi's tho? no. now fúck off with that ****e and stop taking this thread off topic. its about taxi drivers' knowledge of areas which i have already mentioned. its not about how many people in ireland are black or wheather or not its ok to call someone 'black'. those things have nothin to do with the thread title

mrfantastico

amdublin why do you care so much, it was a black taxi man, peopel will say he was black because they are white, if this was congo and i drove a taxi people from there would say a white taxi man didnt know his way to the market. you are trying to make someone out to be racist when they are not, in my opinion you are worse than actual racists


after hours response:am dublin should you not be occupying dame street you crazy liberal freak

Kiera

Seans_Username wrote: »

i know what ya mean, but thats because after white taxi drivers, black ones are more than likely the most common. thats just the way it is, sadly. but in fairness, i can't really ever remember seeing many indian or asian taxi drivers

The taxi drivers out my way are either white or Asian.

The Internet Explorer

A great bunch of lads.

Feisar

Kiera wrote: »

Cause the OP's question was answered and now a new topic has taken over.

Fair enough I suppose.

On to the topic currently being discussed I feel amdublin and yourself are being far too pedantic on the race issue.

My own taxi experience has been brilliant. Have never had a problem with a taxi driver. They've always been friendly and good at their job, can't belive so many people are having problems.

Mike 1972

Oranage2 wrote: »

A black guy from Liberia did tell me that once your skin is black that you're from Africa.

He was talking through his vagina

strangel00p

In London, taxi drivers need to pass the knowledge test. Over here is a complete joke.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlMMK_PIzUs&feature=related

Oranage2

- white people tellin non whites what's racist - I've heard it all now

stepbar

280special wrote: »

Mods, please move this if need be, not sure if it should be here or not.

Can someone tell me what the requirements are to qualify for a Taxi driving licence with regards to local knowledge or the ability to find the shortest/quickest route ?

I know that they are fairly strict about this kind of thing in London but after some recent experiences I am wondering what are the rules here, both Dublin City and rural.

Sometimes I wonder as it seems the only requirement is being able to operate a Sat Nav.....

maxfresh

280special wrote: »

Mods, please move this if need be, not sure if it should be here or not.

Can someone tell me what the requirements are to qualify for a Taxi driving licence with regards to local knowledge or the ability to find the shortest/quickest route ?

I know that they are fairly strict about this kind of thing in London but after some recent experiences I am wondering what are the rules here, both Dublin City and rural.

They know f**k all just enough not too pay any tax

amdublin

mrfantastico wrote: »

amdublin why do you care so much, it was a black taxi man, peopel will say he was black because they are white, if this was congo and i drove a taxi people from there would say a white taxi man didnt know his way to the market. you are trying to make someone out to be racist when they are not, in my opinion you are worse than actual racists


after hours response:am dublin should you not be occupying dame street you crazy liberal freak

I've not said anyone is racist. Please don't put words in my mouth.

I've simply enquired why mention skin colour?

Just because you have had one bad black taxi driver or twenty bad taxi drivers does not mean all are bad. That is my point.

Imagine a scenario:
You're in work on your pc, and you are due to have a consultant sit in with you for the day. Imagine they come down and start into a rant about "how sh1t you all are, how they sat with three people yesterday and cannot believe the sh1t you all do, that you are the worst administrators they've ever seen, that you really are a sh1t bunch".

Does that sound fair that they are rating you as sh1t based on what other people have done or do.

OPENROAD

TAXI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Crazy Horse 6

Oranage2 wrote: »

- white people tellin non whites what's racist - I've heard it all now

Of course there is no such thing as racism against white people :rolleyes:

blahblah06

Oranage2 wrote: »

Last week I asked a black taxi driver to take me to Coolock and he asked if that was a pub.

I assume you just take 2 passport size photos and spell your name somewhat right then you get your license

Well your wrong there cause there not passport size photos

Palmy

Using the Sat Nav GPS is crap,It will never send you the direct route and unless you pay for up grades all the time its not worth the hassle when driving a Taxi.In two years i probably only used it about 10 times. Its just handy to have if a person has a street number and has never been there before..EG..They want to go to 1765 sth circular road.Sth circular road is a very long road and its handy to type in the street address to see what end of the road its at.You dont want to prick around typing in the address number,street,and Area code unless you really have too.I'd never turn the meter on though until the address is ready,or if i cant find a place once we are near the destination i would pause the meter until the address is found.:o:o

chughes

strangel00p wrote: »

In London, taxi drivers need to pass the knowledge test. Over here is a complete joke.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlMMK_PIzUs&feature=related

I'm a bit surprised at your view that the area knowledge is a joke. Have you sat it yourself ?

I sat it earlier this year and I don't think it was a joke.

Palmy

Yeah i have heard the new Knowledge test is hard to pass alright.They have done this on purpose to cut down the number of Taxi drivers.Never really miss driving the Taxi although you get to meet some great people and have a good laugh at time,Oh and the money was good if you put the hours in,Dont believe they say they dont make any money.If you work during the week and do the weekends is great money if your prepared to do 60-70hrs a week.

Dionysus

Taxi drivers are experts and therefore deserve to be well remunerated. Look at all the years they have spent in university, and the incredibly difficult professional examinations. Not to mention the intense physical labour. With all these amazing qualifications, they clearly deserve to be paid more than the people who do useless things like clean the streets and fix roads.

When any of you can manage the enormous skill of driving a car and using the gps feature of your phone you will deserve their income.

BunShopVoyeur

amdublin wrote: »

Or even ireland! No, lol, his skin is black so he's from Africa. What a stupid way to think lol.

lol lol lol lol lol lol..........fit enough in there?

Palmy

Yeah driving the taxi isnt rock sceience,And the old school gang made big bucks.I was talking to a guy who said before dereg you could make close to 5k a week if you did the hours.I would believe it too.With so many Taxis these days on a big Lansdowne game day you could make €400-450 on that day if your lucky and do the hours (12noon-6am )If not your at least make €350 on a big game day.Normal Sat night id make anywhere from about €200-300 a night.

criticalcritic

wonderfulname wrote: »

They don't actually need to know anything, I think there might be an optional cert of some kind similar to the mandatory qualification in london but I've yet to meet a taxi driver with one.

You need be convincing about annoying passengers with the constant argument

"Dem bleedin blacks taking our jobs, destroying this game''

And if your black you need be prepared to have deal with assh*les and their insistence your taking your jobs

Ellis Dee

Chuck Stone wrote: »

You must be able to drive a car... I think..

And spell the noun licence correctly.;);)

mrfantastico

Palmy wrote: »

Yeah driving the taxi isnt rock sceience And the old school gang made big bucks.I was talking to a guy who said before dereg you could make close to 5k a week if you did the hours.I would believe it too.With so many Taxis these days on a big Lansdowne game day you could make €400-450 on that day if your lucky and do the hours (12noon-6am )If not your at least make €350 on a big game day.Normal Sat night id make anywhere from about €200-300 a night.

geology-rocks-tshirt.jpg

Spook_ie

amdublin wrote: »

I've not said anyone is racist. <snipped>

Imagine a scenario:
You're in work on your pc, and you are due to have a consultant sit in with you for the day. Imagine they come down and start into a rant about "how sh1t you all are, how they sat with three people yesterday and cannot believe the sh1t you all do, that you are the worst administrators they've ever seen, that you really are a sh1t bunch".

Does that sound fair that they are rating you as sh1t based on what other people have done or do.

Yes it's fair and rightly so, your department is being given a bad name by a minority, you should sort your minority out that are giving the department a bad image

Jesus Wept

Anyone else getting short changed often by taxi drivers?

Robdude

I've only taken two Taxi's but they were both. The first one in particular; very helpful and got me where I needed to be on time.