r/Glasgow Tools

It's nuts, eh.

The other ones that seems to catch a few drivers out is the Cathedral Street to Bath Street bridge, the Howard and Midland Street one that connects Stockwell to Oswald Street and the ones going in and out of George Square.

If your driver knows the bus lanes and gates it makes a massive difference in travel time and distance.

I remember struggling with them when I first started out, particularly that Gorbals one. It's fantastic now that I know them all.

I studied for the topographic test, though. I had no intention of ever sitting the test or driving a hackney, but I did the lessons so that I could be good at private hire. I also spent time off shift driving around teaching myself routes and bus lanes.

Overall point, when I started out I needed the customer to tell me I'd went the wrong way. Private hire driver get zero training and we are thrown right in at the deep end on day one.
Without the feedback there's no way to know a fuck up happened. A wee "Not to be a dick, but you'd have been better taking such and such bus lane by the way" would give me something to note down and go drive it again later by myself to learn it. I was always grateful for the pointer and would always apologize and explain that I had only been doing the job for so long and still learning; and whenever the customer pointed out my route was a bit longer I'd knock a quid or so off the fare. You will get arse hole drivers though.