Paul Owen in New York 

Share with us: what does a successful New York City taxi driver need to know?

New York cabbies have long had to pass an 80-question test, but now geography accounts for only 10 of those, due to the rise of GPS and rival firms. We want to hear from you about the things you want them to know before they hit the road
  
  

Taxi drivers are no longer required to pass a rigorous geography test to become certified. Is this really a good thing?
Taxi drivers are no longer required to pass a rigorous geography test to become certified. Is this really a good thing? Photograph: D. Hurst / Alamy/Alamy

New York city taxi drivers have had to know the five boroughs like the back of their hands since way back when ... until now.

Cabbies have long had to pass an 80-question test covering tourist hotspots like the Empire State Building and the Museum of Modern Art, but also less famous spots. “It was not quite ‘The Knowledge,’ the test London cabbies spend years preparing for,” the New York Times wrote this week, “but even drivers from the city found it daunting.”

But now geography has been severely reduced on the cab drivers’ test, leaving only 10 questions on map reading – due partly to the ubiquity of GPS, and partly to the rise of rival taxi firms such as Uber, which have driven down the number of those wanting to hail a yellow cab.

But is it wise to entrust all geographical knowledge of New York to GPS? If you’re heading from downtown Manhattan to Long Island City, it might take you over a busy Brooklyn Bridge, when most cabbies would know you would be better off on the Queensboro Bridge instead.

What questions about New York City would you insist drivers know before they are allowed to become a cabbie? Post them here by clicking on the blue “Contribute” button and we’ll pull the best 10 together into a quiz.

If you’re out and about, you can download the GuardianWitness app or look for our assignments in the new Guardian app.

 

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