History Main / DriverOfABlackCab

* The ''DoctorWho'' fic "[[http://www.whofic.com/viewstory.php?sid=39333 Among the Jarveys of the Metropolis]]" has Amy and Rory hail a [[FlyingCar flying cab]] in future London, whose driver tells them "the monologue" is extra. Apparently the tourists expect it.

The test taken to qualify as a Black Cab driver in London is called "The Knowledge[[hottip:*:of London Examination]]", takes about ''three years'' to study for it, and involves a ridiculously intuitive knowledge of [[OneLondonThirtyThreeBoroughs London geography]]. As BillBryson put it, "[London cabbies] would sooner entrust their teenage daughters to [[EvilChancellor Alan]] [[ReallyGetsAround Clark]] for a weekend than admit they've never heard of your destination", but chances are they have.

The test taken to qualify as a Black Cab driver is called "The Knowledge[[hottip:*:of London Examination]]", takes about ''three years'' to study for it, and involves a ridiculously intuitive knowledge of [[OneLondonThirtyThreeBoroughs London geography]]. As BillBryson put it, "[London cabbies] would sooner entrust their teenage daughters to [[EvilChancellor Alan]] [[ReallyGetsAround Clark]] for a weekend than admit they've never heard of your destination", but chances are they have.

* In his ''RedDwarf'' memoir, ''The Man in the Rubber Mask'', Robert Llewellyn confirms the second stereotype (with a dash of the first) by saying he has only once been in a black cab where the driver didn't refer to having had "that coloured geezer, the Scouse one, Craig Charles" as a passenger. And that driver was a novice.

* A round on ''[=~I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue~=]'', where the object is to fail a job interview, had Graeme, applying for a job as a cabbie, say he doesn't really hold any strong opinions.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Alluded to in the novel ''{{Neverwhere}}'', when after Richard returns to "London Above", the first thing he does when hailing a cab is to express interest in hearing all of the driver's geopolitical opinions. He is so eager about it that the guy thinks Richard is mocking him.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

** And another one in which a sat-nav starts making right-wing comments (this joke has been done in other media).

[[AC:{{Magazines}}]]
* ''PrivateEye'' often has its "A Taxi Driver Writes" like this, usually with the phrase "I had that X in the back of my cab the other day, very clever man..."
** To clarify, whenever a public figure says or does something crudely right-wing, ''Private Eye'' will mock them by portraying them as a taxi driver.

[[AC:{{Radio}}]]

[[AC:{{Stand-Up Comedy}}]]

[[AC:RealLife]]

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The test taken to qualify as a Black Cab driver is called "The Knowledge[[hottip:*:of London Examination]]", takes about ''three years'' to study for it, and involves a ridiculously intuitive knowledge of [[OneLondonThirtyThreeBoroughs London geography]].

Although in America, [[TheTaxi taxi]] drivers often have a FunnyForeigner stereotype, it's quite different (in a sense, the antithesis) in England. Often ex-police, the drivers of black cabs (or to be technical, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackney_carriage#Black_cabs Hackney Carriages]]) are known for falling into the second type of PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad and liking to share with their customers their views on what's wrong with society today (immigrants, the youth, etc.) and their proposed solutions (public hangings and floggings). Not to be confused with black people who drive cabs, toward whom this character might not be congenial.

* From ''DirkGently's Holistic Detective Agency'':

'''Barry''': [[YoureNotMyDriver Help! Help! I'm being abducted!]] En route to Elephant and Castle!

* In his comic book based on real events ''The Quest For The Big Woof'', black British comedian Lenny Henry describes how his (white) wife went past the Notting Hill Festival in a cab, and the driver started going on about how "darkies" should go back where they came from if they wanted to have festivals. Furious, Dawn French (a British comedian of considerable note herself) told him who her husband was, and he replied "Lenny Henry? Really? You couldn't get me a ticket, could you, love?"

Although in America, [[TheTaxi taxi]] drivers often have a FunnyForeigner stereotype, it's quite different (in a sense the antithesis) in England. Often ex-police, the drivers of black cabs (or to be technical [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackney_carriage#Black_cabs Hackney Carriages]]) are known for falling into the second type of PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad and liking to share with their customers their views on what's wrong with society today (immigrants, the youth, etc.) and their proposed solutions (public hangings and floggings). Not to be confused with black people who drive cabs, who this character might not be congenial towards.

The test taken to qualify as a Black Cab driver is called "The Knowledge[[hottip::of London Examination]]", takes about ''three years'' to study for, and involves a ridiculously intuitive knowledge of [[OneLondonThirtyThreeBoroughs London geography]].

[[AC:{{Live Action TV}}]]

* The character of Charlie Slater in {{EastEnders}} was a black-cab driver, but in his ten-year stint on the show, he averted the trope; he was generally good-natured and was portrayed as apolitical.
* One of the characters from the vox pops on ABitOfFryAndLaurie is StephenFry (who drives a cab in real life, but not as a job) as a stereotypical long-winded cab driver: "If you've got a jar of marmalade in a cupboard, right? And you take the marmalade out of the cupboard, right? You've still got the marmalade. It's not in the cupboard, but you've got the marmalade. You've got to put the marmalade somewhere else haven't you? Course you have, stands to reason. There's the cupboard; no marmalade. But you've still got the marmalade. It's the same with sex and violence on television. You can take sex and violence off television, but where are you going to put them?"

** To clarify, whenever a public figure says or does something crudely right-wing, ''PrivateEye'' will mock them by portraying them as a taxi driver.

* A round on ''[=~I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue~=]'', where the object is to fail a job interview, had Graeme, applying for a job as a cabbie, say he doesn't really hold any strong opinions.
* On ''TheNowShow'', MitchBenn parodied the news that the WOMD dossier was partly based on the testimony of a Baghdad taxi driver by imagining him as a DriverOfABlackCab:

[[AC:{{Stand Up Comedy}}]]
* RonWhite reports in one routine that, with a Scottish separatist as a driver, one can see all of London in about ten minutes.

[[AC:{{RealLife}}]]
* In his ''RedDwarf'' memoir, ''The Man In The Rubber Mask'', Robert Llewellyn confirms the second stereotype (with a dash of the first) by saying he has only once been in a black cab where the driver didn't refer to having had "that coloured geezer, the Scouse one, Craig Charles" as a passenger. And that driver was a novice.

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* The character of Charlie Slater in {{EastEnders}} is a black cab driver, but in his ten year stint (so far) on the show, he has averted the trope; he is generally good-natured and is portrayed as apolitical.

** Frequently the driver also uses the phrase "They should be strung up, it's the only language they understand". In one peice the driver was talking about ''preventing prisoners from "cheating justice" by hanging themselves''.

* A deleted scene in ''TwentyEightDaysLater'' shows Selena, Jim and Hannah taking turns driving the black cab and doing their best London cabbie impersonation, much to the annoyance of actual cab driver Frank. The DVD commentary mentions that you can't drive a black cab without experiencing an irresistable urge to do this.

-->"Buckinham Palace? I wouldn't go there if you paid me!"

* A deleted scene in ''TwentyEightDaysLater'' shows Selena, Mark and Hannah taking turns driving the black cab and doing their best London cabbie impersonation, much to the annoyance of cab driver Frank. The DVD commentary mentions that you can't drive a black cab without experiencing an irresistable urge to do this.