Re: GPS is shite ....
I've been a truck driver for 20 years.
A little less than I've been driving a car for, but I do see the value in that experience.
You and I could both do a 200 mile run to somewhere, me in my truck and you following your Satnav and I'd arrive before you despite you having a 15MPH speed advantage because quite simply despite all the IQ routing and all that rubbish, it doesn't beat years of experience of the characteristics of the road network.
Over 200 miles? No, sorry, you've got that very wrong. A 200 mile journey will involve about 150 miles of trunk roads, meaning I'll already be about 30 minutes ahead of you before any local knowledge comes to the fore. And you're assuming you don't get stuck behind a caravan, slower truck, or other dawdler that I could overtake which could increase our speed differential substantially.
You've also fallen into the trap of assuming that my 20+ years knowledge would be wholly disregarded and I'd only follow the SatNav. Why would I do that when I know the roads well enough to know many of the same short cuts you know, but also can better access many in a car that aren't suitable for your truck.
I've been using Satnav for over a decade, first using Tomtom on a Nokia N70, and it is far from anywhere near capable of finding the truly quickest route given the time of day and day of week.
I agree, but that isn't its real purpose. Lets say I want to get from The Gherkin in the City to nappy valley in Clapham. I know the roads very well and would select a route as quick or quicker than the black cab (I used to live there which trumps the odd fare in that direction every few weeks) and definately faster than GPS. The Nav I only need if I'm going somewhere I don't know well or haven't been before. And that won't be the whole journey - I can drive as far as my knowledge takes me before falling back on the SatNav.
Nobody here is proposing black cabs be banned from the road. You'll still be able to pay over the odds for them if you wish. All anyone is asking for is the rest of us have free choice to use something else other than the monopoly.
"The Knowledge" doesn't substantially cut journey times over a little experience and a Sat Nav. Many minicab drivers have as much experience as black cab drivers and a similar understanding of the road layout. It just doesn't justify the fare premium, and the cabbies know it, which is why they're creating a fuss about it.