The daily Close Call

no way man. black cabbies generally have shitloads of road experience many of them driving for years and years. also, much like buses, because they're all the same vehicles, you get to know them and how they move, how quick they can accelerate etc etc.

minicabs on the other hand tend to be driven by FOBs with some license from in fuck knows what country, constantly distracted by their GPS cos they haven't a clue where they are going. a lot of them are driving more powerful cars too.

Years of experience getting away with driving badly doesn't really help.

I was probably wrong to compare the minicabs to vans/buses though - they're predictable more in the way that the average crap, hurried car driver is. In any case, I find them less of a pain to deal with than the cabbies, who seem in their own heads at least to occupy a universe all their own, in which they can do no wrong.

EDIT: and if someone can explain WTF they're allowed in bus lanes, I'd love to know. They're not public transport like buses and not non-congesting like bikes and motorbikes. If anything, they're more of a hazard to shipping than private cars, since they spend half the day driving around looking for fares instead of parked.