New York City taxi drivers will no longer have to pass an English test under new rules designed to make it easier for immigrants to get behind the wheel of a yellow cab.
The test for a taxi license will be available in several languages under regulations that went into effect Friday.
The change was approved by the City Council in April and signed into law by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The New York Times reports that city officials sought parity with app-based ride services such as Uber, which don’t require an English test.
The city’s taxi drivers have been overwhelmingly foreign-born for decades.
According to the Taxi and Limousine Commission, just 4 percent of current drivers were born in the United States.
(AP)
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4 Responses
So, how do you say “follow that car” in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese etc?
So does that mean we have to learn Urdu or will they add Urdu to the road signs?
They will understand fine when you tell them where you want to go. But wait till you ask for a change of $20…
In reality, most will be able to speak and understand enough English to get by. They still have to pass the test on locations and geography for NYC. If the change in policy provides an easier path to a parnassah for new immigrants, we should be supportive of the policy (reminder that there is a pasuk in torah that reminds us we were once gerim in eretz mitzrayim).