If you don’t want to commit to learning all of London to gain a green badge, you can study for only 18-24 months for a yellow badge, allowing you to work in one of London’s 9 sectors. As the suburban badge is yellow, predictably they’re known as ‘canaries’.
It typically takes an applicant between 18 months to two years to complete the knowledge for a suburban sector and therefore none of this year’s applicants have been licensed to date.
Across the 9 yellow badge sectors just 1,954 drivers hold suburban licences with Transport for London.
Only 22 new applications to become a suburban black cabbie have been received by the regulator between the turn of the year and 25th May according to a Freedom of Information request. None of these applicants has as yet qualified.
Of those who have gained the required knowledge this year TfL has issued only four London suburban taxi driver licences this year.
CabbieBlog 
Small wonder really. The cost of buying a taxi alone would put me off, and I doubt there is that much money to be made when restricted to the suburb of choice.
Cheers, Pete.
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I don’t know how they make a living. Thanks Pete for the comment.
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Ouch….a dreadful trend, for sure. Some wise and thoughtful person, humm, perhaps we know of them still, will look at and help us understand all the factors, the variables and nuances and will eventually be able to express it. For now tho, it is hard to not be saddened to see so much change. But then, that is what we more refective sensitive sorts do.
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As Manuel might say: “Si, que, what”
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