INWOOD — Concerns that a bill that would eliminate an English writing test for new taxi drivers will mean harder times for riders is unfounded, said City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez.
The legislation, which Rodriguez introduced in February, creates a universal driver's license for taxicabs and for hire-vehicle drivers allowing drivers to use one license to drive either type of vehicle. Right now, a taxi driver would need a separate license to drive a livery car.
The law, which recently went into effect, would eliminate a written English exam for the drivers, which critics of the bill have condemned "for fear," Rodriguez said.
"We are not removing any safety measures from the requirements of taxi drivers," Rodriguez said at a recent press conference, adding that the fear that if drivers can’t pass a written exam they won’t be able to arrive at their destination is unfounded.
In fact, Rodriguez said, the "ability or inability to write in English has not been an issue for the tens of thousands of livery and black car drivers, who have been providing their services many of them for more than four decades."
Drivers like Rafael Metz and Ambiori Perez, who has been driving for well over a decade in Washington Heights and Inwood, said the new law would help them do their job.
Metz said removing the English writing requirement takes away an embarrassing situation many drivers have faced.
“When you take the wheelchair exam, they ask you if you know English, and then make you write it also, even after I’ve told them I don’t know,” said Metz in Spanish, adding he’s been driving a livery cab for almost 12 years. “Why do they do have to ask when I told them I don't know? It’s like they’re mocking me.”
The Taxi and Limousine Commission said that although English writing proficiency is no longer a requirement, they’re still looking into the option of having an oral exam instead.
“We are working closely with the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs to include a strong English language component to the course,” said TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg.
Drivers will still be required to take a 24-hour education course to be eligible to hold a TLC license, as well as pass a final exam on a variety of topics, including a geography, Vision Zero, and rules of the road, as well as a background check and drug test. The exam, a TLC spokesman confirmed, is given in four languages, English, Spanish, Bengali and Urdu.
"It’s important to observe a changing industry and adopt the universal driver's license, and send the message to all taxi drivers to rest easy, there is no nightmare that a written English exam will be a requirement," Rodriguez said.
