Anyone hoping to drive a private-hire taxi in London could be forced to take a written English test after Transport for London admitted that exemptions for English speakers would hit black and minority ethnic people hardest.
TfL is introducing new rules from 1 October requiring taxi drivers to pass English exams costing £200 to obtain or renew a private hire licence.
Uber, the taxi-hailing app, has argued in court that, while it supports oral tests, the written element is unnecessary and would force some of its drivers out of business.
The company appealed against TfL’s plans to allow exemptions for drivers from English-speaking countries such as Australia, the US and Jamaica. It wants the plans for written English tests dropped completely.
TfL said in papers submitted to the high court that it would abandon the exemption for people from those countries to avoid discrimination, after an outcry from drivers and immigrants’ groups.
“The imposition of a requirement to communicate (including speaking, listening, reading and writing) at an appropriate level will (obviously) have a disproportionate effect on certain nationalities,” said TfL.
“It will also have a disproportionate effect on black and minority ethnic (Bame) applicants ... “TfL accepts that an exemption from the obligation to demonstrate English language competence should not be based on nationality; and it will accordingly give further consideration to the precise scope of the exemptions (if any).”
The decision raises the prospect that people born and raised in English-speaking countries will have to pass tests in rudimentary English. TfL said the organisation was now drawing up new plans for exemptions for some licence applicants but could not say what they would be.
“We are in the process of finalising the exemptions, taking into account equalities impacts, and we will publish details in the near future.”
That leaves drivers for Uber and other taxi services facing uncertainty over their employment prospects with under a fortnight to go until the rules are due to come into force, on 1 October.
Chai Patel, policy director for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, welcomed TfL’s decision to scrap exemptions but questioned the need for written English tests.
“It’s quite right that TfL have moved away from the discriminatory policy that would require only individuals with certain nationalities to go through the burden of an additional English language test. Nevertheless, we remain concerned about the level of written English expected.
“It is quite right that regulatory bodies should require members to meet certain standards for customer service and safety purposes, but if a language requirement is not proportionate to the real needs of the job, it hinders integration and creates an artificial bar for migrants trying to earn a living.
“The language test TfL is seeking to impose is higher than that of many other comparable industries, and we have not seen any convincing evidence from TfL that it is necessary.”
A spokesperson for Uber said TfL was “right to admit that its plans are discriminatory”.
The San Francisco-based company said written exams had “nothing to do with communicating with passengers or getting them safely from A to B”.
“Thousands of drivers could lose their livelihoods as a result. Instead of tinkering with the exemptions, TfL should just scrap these unnecessary new rules.”