Uber drops opposition to English language exams
The mini cab app firm said it would no longer oppose the exams after Transport for London amended its proposals.
Uber has dropped its appeal against English language tests for its drivers in London.
The mini cab app firm said it would no longer oppose the exams after Transport for London (TfL) amended its proposals.
The introduction of the tests had been delayed until July as Uber pledged to challenge the policy in the High Court.
Uber had said it supports spoken English skills, but claimed the exam would have gone beyond requirements for British citizenship as well as rules governing public sector workers.
An Uber spokesman said: “This is a welcome announcement from Transport for London.
“We support raising standards and believe that a new test focused on situations drivers may encounter makes a lot more sense.
“This means we will no longer pursue our legal appeal.”
“I want the highest standards of passenger safety and service in London from private hire drivers and that’s why I’ve always said that if you want to drive passengers in London you should be able to communicate in English at an appropriate level.
“I look forward to TfL working to ensure we have a test that suitably reflects the needs of the role.”
In October last year Uber launched an appeal against TfL’s decision to deny it a new operating licence in the capital on the grounds of “public safety and security implications”.
