Advice??--Good or bad, This is stuff that I have found useful as I have gone along

Home--Links page--Costs page--Starting the Blue book--Diary - Jan 02--Where to start--Diary - 1/1/02 Onwards--Diary 1/1/04 onwards--Diary 14/07/05 onwards--Driving Test--Suburbs--My First day

  1. Everyone told me that this was a big commitment - that was an understatement.
  2. Never ever be late at the PCO, they can, and will turn you away even if you are a couple of minutes late.
  3. There is no reason why you cannot start studying the knowledge before applying to the PCO or while you wait for your first interview.
  4. Get yourself a decent set of maps - large London map - good size A-Z.
  5. Call as you go along - as you drive to the run, call it 4 streets at a time, increasing until you can call the whole run. As soon as you finish the run start to call the next, as you drive through the run keep calling the run.
  6. Call over every day - whenever you have some free time (waiting in traffic) call some runs. I have been told repetition is the key
  7. I use a map and run list at the same time, so if I'm driving along I do have some idea when the next turning/junction is, and for when I get lost. I was advised that it may not be a good idea to use a map as I will tend to rely on it rather than look at the road signs, names etc and therefore I will not develop a sense of distance and feel for the roads. But I must stress that as I go on I have less need to use the map and if you miss a turning you can quickly find your way round. *use it but only when required, try and work off of the run list*
  8. When using the "Q and A" message boards use the "save as" facility and save the message on your PC so you can refer to it at a later date, because I'm sure I will be asking some of the same questions at a later date. 
  9. As I waste a lot of time sitting in traffic to and from work, but need to concentrate on the road, I have started to put the Blue book on Cd's and using a personal player can call over any time, especially in the car - you know what its like, if you hear the song often enough you know it by heart, and if you make a mistake, skip back to the start of the run. (When I first started this an MP3 player was not big enough and Ipods were not around, there is no reason whey the same couldn't be done this way)       
  10. I now have a callover partner, we went for a drink had a chat and found we might be able to get on for the next four years, he is doing the Knowledge point runs which are laid out differently but may be of help when calling over, at the moment we meet once a fortnight for a couple of hours - Its surprising how difficult it is to repeat a run when some else is listening! ** As you go on to appearances you may find that you or your partner start to get ahead of each other, and you may find that you need to find another partner, this is difficult, BUT you must make sure that it suits you, if you are not happy, walk away otherwise you will be wasting your time, far better to end it early before your prospective partner gets really attached.
  11. Set yourself targets, e.g. to complete the runs within a certain time (but be realistic, allow for days when you cannot go out - rain, bike problems) then you have something to aim for in small stages, its easy to think I want to get my badge within 3 years but you will find that the elusive badge seems a long way away.  
  12. There is a £100 one off appearance fee when you go for your first appearance.    (Gone up Mar 03) 
  13. Buy yourself a set of thermals and a good set of gloves - you will need them 
  14. Maps - On the old book where you have to mark the points down onto a blank map, highlight the road where the point is located, get the map sealed in plastic (any print shop should be able to do it) - If it is raining you can use this copy to mark your points down with a permanent marker otherwise use a normal copy
  15. For an appearance, Suit, Tie etc, Don't be late, Go to the toilet as you walk in, then book in. Sir or Ma'am and wait to be told to sit down (don't move the chair either)
  16. Share the cost of the point sheets with your partner
  17. Aim to start with an hours revision a day this will increase as you go on, but if you start on the right foot it will pay dividends later
  18. Cross sections are invaluable, In fact my COP and I have done both the Knowledge point and Wizann X sections.
  19. There is no substitute for hard work, if you put the work in, on your maps, pointing, calling over and point to point.
  20. You must set yourself a target when doing P2P of how many runs you will complete in a session and try and stick to it.
  21. For the first time over Xmas 05 I use a set of Moon Boots rather that normal boots, and in conjunction with some Ski socks, my feet were great - don't know why I didn't use them before  - BIG PLUS - ONLY THING I FOUND THAT KEPT MY FEET WARM
  22. Save yourself money, change the Oil and especially the air filter yourself every six months and have the bike serviced once a year. The air filter is very important as your fuel consumption will increase dramatically and gets clogged up very quickly while driving in the city
  23. Don't under estimate the suburbs, They take time and if possible complete them with a partner as you will need someone to read the map while driving from start to finish of each run (or you could use a Sat Nav) - do them at night and after 9pm you will get them done quicker.

As A Butterboy

Driving a cab is a lot different from driving a scooter (Obvious I know) but you will not realise how different it is until you experience it.

  1. Make sure you carry enough change, especially £5's and £1 pound coins
  2. You will find that different times of the day, some routes that you would take are impractical - ask your customer is they are happy to go another way rather than sit in traffic, If you are asked "why are you going this way" you can always use the "Traffic" or "Car Crash" get out - often people are happy to get home quicker, rather than sit in the traffic.
  3. Always remember where the night loo's are
  4. Be Polite - so far I have found most people to be very pleasant - some want to talk - some don't
  5. Do not worry about making a mistake, If its no big thing - Keep quiet - but I have owned up to two so far, one I got paid the full fair for, the other I gave a couple of quid off and they went away happy
  6. I should have had a refresh on all station and hotel set down's while on 21's just to get used to any system in place (Victoria station is an example)
  7. There are some roads that are hard work, either due to always being busy or due to speed humps, don't be afraid NOT to use a road, I have had to follow a couple of cabbies to locations and been very surprised at the routes they have chosen.