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Uber Says Thousands of London Drivers Threatened By English Language Test (reuters.com)

Posted by msmash on from the story-of-their-lives dept.

Costas Pitas, writing for Reuters: Tens of thousands of London private hire drivers could lose their licenses due to new English reading and writing requirements, taxi app Uber said on Tuesday at the start of a court battle to halt the plans. San Francisco-based Uber, which allows users to book journeys at the touch of a button on their smartphone, has grown rapidly in recent years but faced bans and protests around the world as regulators play catch-up with technology disrupting traditional operators. Uber launched legal action in August after public body Transport for London (TfL) said that drivers should have to prove their ability to communicate in English, including to a standard of reading and writing which Uber says is too high. "It produces the profoundest of human effects. At one extreme it will lead to the loss of livelihood," Uber's lawyer Thomas de la Mare told the High Court in London. There are over 110,000 private hire drivers in the British capital, according to TfL but around 33,000 would fail to pass their renewal test due to the new language hurdle, de la Mare told the court, citing a calculation of data provided by TfL.

5 of 354 comments (clear)

  1. Uber need to get a clue. by JustNiz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It seems just basic common sense to require people that need to deal with the public, including in a safety context, to actually be able to converse in the national language.

    1. Re:Uber need to get a clue. by mrbester · · Score: 5, Informative

      The classes for The Knowledge (you have to have this to be a black cabbie) are in English, so you've got no chance of passing if you don't understand the language.

      --
      "Wait. Something's happening. It's opening up! My God, it's full of apricots!"
    2. Re:Uber need to get a clue. by Hognoxious · · Score: 5, Informative

      Nazi Germany was also a democracy, since Hitler was elected.

      Bzzzt, wrong!

      "Although Hitler lost the presidential election of 1932, he achieved his goals, when he was appointed chancellor on 30 January 1933."

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  2. There's Only One Thing They Care About.... by segedunum · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ......and that's Uber. They don't give a flying fuck about drivers.

  3. Maybe I'm missing something. . . by Salgak1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    . . . but as an initial point, what's wrong with requiring drivers in ENGLAND to show mastery of ENGLISH ??

    But secondly, that's actually a minor hurdle, compared to the "knowledge" required to pass the legendarily hard London Cab Drive License Test.

    Specifically:

    To achieve the required standard to be licensed as an “All London” taxi driver you will need a thorough knowledge, primarily, of the area within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross. You will need to know: all the streets; housing estates; parks and open spaces; government offices and departments; financial and commercial centres; diplomatic premises; town halls; registry offices; hospitals; places of worship; sports stadiums and leisure centres; airline offices; stations; hotels; clubs; theatres; cinemas; museums; art galleries; schools; colleges and universities; police stations and headquarters buildings; civil, criminal and coroner’s courts; prisons; and places of interest to tourists. In fact, anywhere a taxi passenger might ask to be taken.