Updated study materials

Hi prospective chauffeurs.

Do you see a link named Study Materials on the left side of the black bar? If yes, then click on it and find all the relevant study materials and textbooks.

Special thanks for this update goes to Mr. Alex D, without his contribution, this update was not possible.

Study materials updated

Prospective chauffeurs,

I've updated and verified the links for routing and other documents linked to this blog. Please scroll down or use the links to the left to find the 100 routing questions and other stuff. Also, if any of you ladies or gentlemen happen to come across any new materials to study for the chauffeur test then please feel free to email me at chicagotaxi9@gmail.com. If the documents are relevant and helpful to the context of this blog, I'll upload/post the same so that others can be benefit from it.

Thank You.
7/8/2013 

Change in licensing exam

Effective December 1, 2012, 

The public chauffeur license written examination will be administered by the City Colleges of Chicago, Olive-Harvey College.

So no more taking exam at Ogden Ave (Dept of consumer Services) Just one exam at Olive Harvey College.

"Starting December 2, 2012, applicants will be able to test once at the end of their course at Olive Harvey and once they’ve passed, may begin the licensing process at Ogden after 48 hours." - Chicago Dispatcher 11/14/2012

Taxi industry current info & updates

Fellow chauffeurs, as most of you know that there is newspaper published specially for the cabdrivers of Chicago. The name of the publication is CHICAGO DISPATCHER. This paper is free of cost to anyone and is available for pickup at most Indian/Pakistani restaurants in downtown Chicago. 

The website address if you what to read the paper online is  http://chicagodispatcher.com/ 

Also, most of the comments on the blog is asking to email them the copy of 100 routing questions! 

The routing questions and other stuff was first made available on this blog since the very first day. Click on the top sentence that says 
Chicago city taxi license information hub
Then scroll down and find the link says "CLICK HERE for 100 routing questions & POI.

Taxi Program is moving to Olive Harvey College from downtown

Well prospective chauffeurs there's some good and bad news. Effective June 2012 the 2 weeks taxi program from Harold Washington College is moving to Olive Harvey College on the south side of Chicago (103rd st and Stony Island). The good news is that there's  plenty of parking on the campus for cars so students can drive without worrying about parking. Anyway, the bad news is (from the rumors) the new revamped 2 week curriculum at new location is going to be somewhat harder than Harold Washington College. Please read the article for more information.

Thanks to the anonymous commenter 5/23/2012.

Click here for the article. 

Free Chicago Taxi License Practice exams

Well, not a lot of fuss in the taxi industry lately. Anyway, I've noticed many new "money in exchange for questions" websites popping on Google claiming how their so-called "program" questions is going to help you pass the mighty Chicago Taxi Exam. However, it's up to you folks whether to take a swing at it or not. By the way, there's an old timer website called www.proprofs.com which has the majority of the taxi City/Harold Washington related questions posted on it. Those questions are of real help! Click the link below.

http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/search.php?search=Chicago+taxi

I'm not here to make money, heck you dont even see paypal button on my blog. So, help each other out and try not to make money out of others unless you are giving them one on one live sessions in the name of help.

Peace.

Dec 3,2011

100 Routing questions & POI

Alright folks, here is the link for the 100 routing & POI's answer key. I am sure that most of you have come across or seen this doc. Anyway, I've heard that most of the geography questions in the HWC exam concentrate on downtown and poi's north of it, while the city exam puts more emphasis on the south side of the city. It doesn't mean that being perfect in this 100 routing will do the job, whereas, knowing the locations of the hotels, hospitals, theaters, museums, buildings, transit stations and so on....... IS CRUCIAL TOO.

I am posting three docs today.

1. CLICK HERE for Downtown street grid numbers (coordinates):

Covers most streets locations in downtown, memorizing them can be overwhelming, so don't panic. But here is an idea, for instance, the streets south of Madison which runs east and west are: Monroe, Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, Congress.


You can memorize the first alphabet of every street, where in this case it would be: M,M,A,J,V,C. So, no big deal! Likewise, apply the same concept for the major streets, starting from North side Howard St all the way to Madison, then Halsted st all the way to Cumberland.

Later on, if anyone ask you what is the major intersection near  6550 N and 1200 W then you should be able to answer that.

2. CLICK HERE for Downtown street map: shows the direction of the streets, one-way, two-way, etc.

3. CLICK HERE for 100 routing and POI  

If you guys have any questions/comments then please feel free to ask

Routing ideas

Knowing the routing and POI is the crucial step in passing the HWC and Consumer Services exam.

To be efficient in routing, the very first step is to thoroughly know the 100 routes which are given as a two page handout in the geography section of the class.

Previously, the exact "routing" and "POI" to these routes were given to students but now days they don't do it anymore. 

A majority of the students often disregard the 100 routes, but to tell you the truth, the 100 routes cover almost all of the POI's, neighborhoods and major streets. Nevertheless, many people still have the answer copies of the 100 routes with POI's. However, there is a catch!  I’ve seen two variations of the answer key. Here’s why

The first route in the 100 routes is from Loyola University Lake shore campus to DePaul University Lincoln Park campus. 

The common sense answer would be taking Lake Shore Dr south to Fullerton West. However, the right answer is Broadway south to Halsted south to location. So, this is the right answer key!

The best remedy is to memorize the map of the loop with knowing which street is going in which direction and google maps does it very best with its street view and stuff. Like I said, take couple of weeks off to study before you begin the 2 week course at HWC. 

I mean, if you are a fast learner then you can wrap it up in 5 days without feeling the pressure by studying 8 hours every day. Also, you can sleep in class or brush up your geography skills while the so-called instructor is babbling. 

Additionally, you should be thorough with the coordinate system. 

Google maps are your best friend, just stare at it and look at the 100 routes. You’ll eventually get behind the wheel of a cab in no time.

Any other questions/comments welcomed.

To discuss, or to comment, please click on the heading "Routing ideas" then use the box at the bottom.

Road to chauffeur license 101

Here is the detailed breakdown of the procedure to obtain a chauffeurs license in the city of Chicago with all the possibilities covered.

1. Must be 21 years of age or older

2. Illinois Drivers License

3. Must take the ENGLISH PROFICIENCY EXAM at Harold Washington College in downtown Chicago. However, if you have any proof of the completion of ENGLISH 101 (college level English course) or better course from an accredited American college/university then no need to take the exam and prospective drivers can register for a 2 week chauffeur course ($275 fee) at HWC straight up.

 

4. If you didn't do well in the ENGLISH PROFICIENCY EXAM, then you have to take the 2 day English language enhancement course at HWC (Harold Washington College) $100 fee. The class is composed of general English language skills and anyone who speaks “entry-level” English should be in good shape. The so-called final exam is given on the 2^nd day and you need to score a minimum 70% in order to pass. If somehow you failed the exam, then you have to register for the same course only after 30 days. If you failed the course on 2^nd attempt then you have to register for an ESL course which would last for 16 weeks! Bummer!

 

5.  Register for a 2 week chauffeur course after you have taken and passed the language enhancement course/exam.

6. The chauffeur class will start on a Saturday morning with a bus tour of downtown Chicago and will end around 1:30 pm. The chauffeur class has 2 sections every day and you can register for either if the seats are available. 9:00 am – 4:30 pm or 2:30 pm – 10:00 pm. $275 fee.

 

7. On the first day of the class you will be given 4 textbooks which cover 4 subjects related to the taxi course. Nevertheless, the two week class is divided into 4 subjects: 

FIRST WEEK

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday: PDI (Professional Development) covers treating customers with respect and all the other boring stuff. You are better off sleeping during the never ending stories and other nonsense/common sense taught by the teachers/guest speakers.

Thursday and Friday: Rules and Regulations related to Taxis in Chicago, things such as rules at the airport etc.

Saturday: Second bus tour which covers the southside of Chicago. Honestly, none of the bus tours make any sense; it’s a tremendous waste of time and fuel.

SECOND WEEK

Monday to Wednesday: Hardest part of all four subjects: GEOGRAPHY OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO which includes stuff such as the street grid system etc.

Thursday and Friday: TAP (Taxi Access Program) it covers things like dealing with people with disabilities and their fare program etc.

Then at 3:00 pm (if you take the morning class) or at 8:30 pm (if you take the evening class) you will be taken into a computer lab to take the final exam which is hour and thirty minutes long, 80 questions (10 PDI, 10 Rules & Regulation, 10 TAP and 50 Geography) you need to get at least 70% in order to pass the class and get your certificate of completion. That is 56 should be correct out of 80 questions. If you fail the exam you need to re-register for the course (after 30 days) for an additional three times maximum. However if you fail the fourth time then you cannot register for the taxi course for 3 years.

ALL QUESTIONS ARE MULTIPLE CHOICES AND ARE NOT EASY!

8. Once you pass the 2 week course then take the certificate of completion to the Department of consumer services and take the ACTUAL CHAUFFEUR EXAM. Here you have 3 chances to pass the exam and get at least 85% in order to get your City of Chicago chauffeur license. 80 questions are given which covers all 4 subjects, but mostly geography. So you need to get at least 68 correct out of 80 questions. Nevertheless, if you flunked the exam on the third try then you have to re-take the 2 week chauffeur course at HWC, come back to Dept of consumer services and take 3 attempts to pass the exam. IF you failed on the third attempt then you cannot register for the taxi course for 3 years.

Prospective students asking for previous taxi exam questions from others are totally out of their minds. First, from what I’ve heard, HWC randomly selects 80 questions from a pool of about 600 different questions, whereas, the Dept of consumer service has numerous different sets of 80 questions from a pool of 900 questions!!! On the other hand, there are websites offering their version of Chicago taxi courses/exams for a certain amount of fee. Honestly, if these websites were truly helpful then everyone would have passed the HWC and Dept of Consumer services exam without any hiccups and I wouldn’t have to type this huge paragraph. Sadly, this is not the case. I mean these websites belong to individuals like you and I and all they do is make money from advertising on their website by posting obsolete questions which are 5-6 years old. 

SO DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY. To support my point, old Chicago taxi exams questions are widely available online for FREE and what big of a fool would one be if they paid for it. Secondly, there is no guarantee at that there is any chance that you will pass if you study from the old city exams from your friend or relative or any other source because the questions has been exceptionally changed overtime. For instance, United Center is at Madison & Damen, whereas in the Dept of consumer services exam the option is Wolcott & Warren.

The best preparation is to take a week off and study the geography of Chicago before the 2 week chauffeur class begins. If I have enough readers then I will scan and post a pdf copy of all 4 chauffeur course textbooks and other good stuff.

If you have any questions / comments / suggestions then please post a comment and we can all discuss it and help each other out.