--- description: The difficult geography questions disappeared thanks to technology and competition from car services like Uber and Lyft, title: New York Taxi Geography: Questions Fade From Test image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6e1b17e52b160da/698782bcf887dc21cbe8a816/taxi.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Cab Drivers No Longer Required to Learn N.Y.C.'s Streets  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Mar 9, 2015 3:13 PM CUT  6th avenue, manhattan 6th avenue, manhattanGetty Images  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Mar 9, 2015 3:13 PM CUT Prospective New York City taxi drivers are no longer required to master the city’s streets, according to a new report. Difficult geography questions have disappeared from the once 80-question test administered by The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) on the nuances of the city’s roadways before winning a coveted license, the [New York _Times_ reports](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/09/nyregion/the-best-route-once-sacred-cabby-wisdom-takes-a-back-seat.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news "undefined"). Technology such as GPS and competition from car services like Uber and Lyft contributed to the change, the report finds. In recent years, GPS has made it easy for a taxi driver to get from one point to another without much knowledge of city streets. But experts interviewed by the _Times_ said that the rise of competition from services like Uber has forced the commission’s hand to encourage more people to apply to drive a taxi. \[[_NYT_](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/09/nyregion/the-best-route-once-sacred-cabby-wisdom-takes-a-back-seat.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3737193/nyc-taxi-geography/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3737193/nyc-taxi-geography/"},"headline":"Cab Drivers No Longer Required to Learn N.Y.C.'s Streets","datePublished":"2015-03-09T15:13:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:00:43.321Z","description":"Both technology and competition from services like Uber and Lyft may explain the change","url":"https://time.com/3737193/nyc-taxi-geography/","keywords":["Transportation","New York City"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6e1b17e52b160da/698782bcf887dc21cbe8a816/taxi.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6e1b17e52b160da/698782bcf887dc21cbe8a816/taxi.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Taxi cab","caption":"Taxi cab","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3737193/nyc-taxi-geography/","name":"Cab Drivers No Longer Required to Learn N.Y.C.'s Streets"}}]}] ```