Transport for London
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Hailing 150 years of The Knowledge
The Mayor marked a century and a half since the launch of the world-famous Knowledge test for black cab drivers at City Hall last week.
Meeting new drivers who had just received their taxi badge, the Mayor set out future commitments to the trade.
This includes £65m to help drivers upgrade to the latest zero-emission capable vehicles and to remove the most polluting vehicles from the Capital's streets.
The numbers of officers in the TfL Compliance Team will also be doubled, further boosting efforts to tackle illegal minicab activity.
Taking The Knowledge involves memorising 25,000 streets and 100,000 landmarks, within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross.
Started in 1865, 'The Knowledge of London' is the most advanced and well-known taxi driver test in the world.
It has been overseen by TfL since 2000 - before this it was the responsibility of the Metropolitan Police Service.
