If You’re Going To Drive A Cab In Sacramento, You Better Know How To Speak English

I used to live in downtown Chicago, and as a city dweller, I barely drove my car.  I was a cab-and-subway chick, and I loved that about living in the city.  LOVED.  Not having to drive myself to places is seriously the one thing I miss about city living.  The drawback about cabbing it everywhere, though, was the communication part – and occasionally the smell.  Cabbies can be really freaking smelly, but this post is about communication, so I'll try to focus. 

I always hated it when my cab driver couldn't speak English.  This made it very difficult for me to quickly say, "hey, I need to get to so-and-so place."  And occasionally, that resulted in me NOT getting to my intended destination quickly, or it resulted in me only getting NEAR my intended destination, as I grew frustrated in trying to communicate, IN AMERICA, IN ENGLISH, with someone who couldn't speak English and was attempting to take diretions from me.  

Not a good combo.

Apparently, people in Sacramento aren't fans of this combo, either, and because of their complaints, "taxi drivers (are now) required to pass an English test to renew their permits."  This is "part of a newly passed ordinance that recently went into effect requires drivers to know a certain level of English."

And the drivers?  Well, they say they're being "set up for failure."

Because they have to speak English.  Well, waaaah.

There are two parts to the test – one written and one digital – and they're both required "for a driver to renew their permit. In the first week, 18 of the 28 drivers failed at least one portion."

I think knowing English is a stellar idea.  Communication is necessary in the job, after all.  

But your mileage may vary.