Taxi driver wisdom: what they know about the city and how to make the most of it

Taxi driver wisdom is the practical knowledge of the city that comes from driving through it every day: streets and alternatives when there is a jam, how traffic changes with the time of day, where the hospitals, hotels and stations are, and which neighbourhoods are fashionable or full of roadworks. Part of that knowledge is required to obtain the driver's permit and the rest comes from years at the wheel. For a visitor, and for those who live in the city too, it is a very useful source of tips if you know how to ask.

The exam

To drive a taxi in Madrid you have to pass a municipal exam that includes knowledge of the city: streets, routes and places of interest. That is the starting point, the mental map every taxi driver begins with.

Daily experience

What really makes the difference comes afterwards. Every shift adds journeys, short cuts, school start times, street closures for events and hundreds of conversations with passengers from all over. That constant practice even leaves a physical mark, as studies on the extraordinary brain of taxi drivers show.

Contact with people

Tourists, executives, students, families and lifelong locals all pass through a taxi. The driver hears opinions, recommendations and complaints from all of them, and that gives them a view of the city that is hard to get from any other job.

If you feel like chatting, these are the questions on which a taxi driver tends to be an excellent source:

When it comes to the airport, for example, a taxi driver knows that leaving early on a Monday is not the same as leaving on a Sunday afternoon. If you would rather forget about those calculations, you can book your airport taxi for the time we suggest based on your flight.

Another, less visible form of wisdom is composure. A good taxi driver stays calm in the heaviest traffic and with a passenger running late for a flight, and that serenity is contagious. Many passengers admit they get out of the taxi more relaxed than when they got in, simply because someone has taken charge of the journey for them.

A taxi driver is a transport professional, not a tour guide or an adviser. It is worth bearing a few limits in mind:

• Not all of them want to chat, just as not all passengers do. A short question is enough to find out.
• You decide the route: you can ask for their advice, but you have the right to choose the route, as we explain in did you know you can choose the route.
• To get to know the city in depth, it is better to hire a journey designed for that, such as a sightseeing taxi tour of Madrid.

And if you have just arrived, the first journey from the airport is the best moment for that first conversation; we explain why in why your taxi driver matters in your first hours in a new city. If you are staying in the centre, you can also order your taxi in central Madrid for any journey.