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Choosing to become a taxi driver means choosing to be in charge of your own career.

You get to choose when and where you work and how much you earn, so if you're looking to go your own way and you enjoy the feeling of independence then choosing to study the knowledge really is a smart option.

I mean now I'm me own boss, I can work when I want to.

Which is - I work four days a week so I've got the weekends free to myself, I met a lot of good friends along the way during the knowledge.

Maybe once a month or 5 weeks I'll go out on a Saturday night; from the minute you put the light on as you ran into the city till 5:00 in the morning you're just constantly busy.

Earning a nice living and then you can go home on - early Sunday morning and as you in to bed you think to yourself - I've had a nice night; nice takings and you look forward to the day off and then you look forward to doing it again the next week.

A good prospect at the end of it is that you are your own boss; I think that is one of the most important things.

And as regards for a lady if she has got other children then it's - you can work round it.

It's a very good job, I would think, for a married woman, a divorced lady - whatever, it's very good, you can work round it.

That is my main aim, that I can take time out and I can work whenever I want.

Now my first port of call is here in the bookings hall. I have no idea what's going on but meet one of the examiners, Stephen Thomas.

Hi Steve.

Hello Miles.

How are you?.

Not too bad, mate.

Could you just tell me - I mean, great hall, my first point of call.

I have no idea what's involved in what you have to learn on the Knowledge.

Well first of all you've got to know all of London and that is a big commitment time-wise ie you've got to do written exams, oral appearances in front on the examiner, and it is the length of time involved in.

Is this all - this is all at the same stage is it? or is it at different stages?.

No - it starts off, you get the initial talk, then you're given a certain amount of time: 6 months to do the first so many runs then you get a mock exam then eventually there's the final exam.

Once you've passed the final exam to say that we think you've done enough ground work, you then - that is when you come up on appearances.

And all of this has to come out of my own pocket?.

We don't pay for anything, it's down to you to sort out that part.

My goodness, show me around?.

Yeah, by all means.

How long have you been an examiner?.

Nearly five years now.

Five years - and how long would it take some one to do the knowledge itself?.

If they've done it full time, probably two years, but it can go from any time onwards.

You've obviously got to buy your own equipment to do it on; the bike, the helmet, the gloves, boots etc all your maps, books from the colleges.

And then it's obviously the time that you're spending doing it - you're not getting paid for it.

So those are the cost implications when you can fit it in amongst your domestic circumstances and your career.

There are two types of badges that a driver can get; a Green badge will enable that driver to ply for hire anywhere within the Metropolitan Police or City of London Police area.

The Yellow badge is split up into all the boundaries depicted by the boroughs.

The Suburban Knowledge gives the candidate the opportunity to study for the London Borough of Bromley or the London Borough of Croydon.

And they just study that particular area which is much smaller than the candidates on the Green Badge.

As well as a general overall level of competency the examiner will be looking for evidence that you can drive safely in a congested area.

You will also need to know how to use the facilities such as the swivel seat and the wheelchair ramp to assist those with a disability.

Okay Trevor, the first thing we're going to do is get you to read a number plate.

So if you just stop here for a moment.

Okay, so see the vehicles there ahead of you there, if you can read the number on the vehicle on the far left for me.

Most people when they arrive at the test centre to take a test they will feel quite apprehensive, after all they are coming for a test.

However, they probably won't feel the same nerves that they felt when they took their original L test because these are experienced drivers and usually they've got a fair amount of confidence.

They are quite worried at the fact they've been driving for several years and then all of a sudden somebody's going to be staring at them and watching every move they make whilst they drive and whilst they load the wheelchair on to the vehicle.

So yes I think a certain amount of nerves would be expected and quite often people do perform very well even though they are slightly nervous at the time.

The reason why it's important to have this test it's vitally important for road safety that the fare paying passengers can get from A to B both in comfort and in safety.

Because these are experienced drivers they may have picked up some habits so it does no harm for these drivers to have a look at their own driving and sort of do a bit of self assessment if you like.

And get some driver training behind them so that when they're taking passengers from A to B those passengers have confidence in the service that they're providing.

The test in its entirety is about an hour, The first part or the largest part of that probably about 38 to 40 minutes, would be the driving element of the test.

So there's some general driving on a variety of road and traffic conditions.

I'll ask them to do two maneuvers, one of which will be what they call a taxi maneuver exercise, which is a maneuver where the candidate chooses which way they want to turn the vehicle round and from that I will then choose a second maneuver accordingly.

Now with the general driving I might ask them to do an emergency stop and there will be several times during that drive where I'll pull them up at the side of the road either to see them move off from behind a parked car.

Or move off on a hill or just normal stop as if they were picking up or dropping off a fare paying passenger.

After that element of the test the next part would naturally be the wheelchair exercise.

So during this exercise the candidate would have to demonstrate how they would load an empty wheelchair in and out of the vehicle using the ramps, using the harnesses and the seatbelts that are supplied.

The DSA would provide the wheelchair for this exercise but the main point of this is that they imagine that there was somebody in this wheelchair and they can load it safely and with due concern to the passenger that might be in that chair.

Following that there are some questions both on the highway code and matters relating to the safety of the vehicle.

I also ask the candidate to identify some traffic signs, and that's it then, after that then I would give the candidate the results of the test and that would be over.

Okay, that's the end of the test and I'm very pleased to say you've passed.

Thank god for that.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

That's great.

Mopeds are the most common things you can see, you will see scooters as well but they're affordable compared to any other forms of transport that you're going to use.

They're the most convenient way to do it.

And you're going to see a lot out around there, you see loads of them out there like mini celebs.

A lot of guys and girls because when they're going out they go out sort of times that suit themselves, so they go out early in the morning or maybe late at night which is obviously not office hours.

Now a lot of places they might be visiting might be places of interest to the public during office hours.

But then before 9 am they might be a place of residence, someone might be living there so we ask them not to go and knock or ring bells.

Comply: Leamouth, Circus - Lower Lea Crossing, comply: Silvertown Roundabout, leave by Capston Street South, forward: North Woolwich Road, comply: North Woolwich Roundabout, leave by Connaught Bridge.

Comply: Airport Roundabout, leave by Connaught Road, left: Halton Road, set down on the left: London City Airport.

Well done, brilliant, good luck.

Cheers.