Taxi drivers criticise new rules: Learn English and stop wearing shorts
Taxi drivers criticise new rules: Learn English and stop wearing shorts
CITY bye-laws in Seville ordering taxi drivers to learn English and banning them from wearing shorts whilst working have not gone down well in the sector.
Responses to the new rules, set to come into force shortly, have included: “When all politicians decide to learn English and speak it properly, so will we.”
Another driver interviewed said, “Learn English? But this is Spain, isn't it? It should be enough to speak our own language, Spanish.”
He also commented on the irony of 'politicians expecting taxi drivers to learn English' when a poor grasp of the language had made head of Madrid city council Ana Botella 'an international laughing stock' during the 2020 Olympic bid.
They are also unhappy about rules covering dress code whilst working. “If you're clean and tidy, and not scruffy, why should it matter if you wear shorts rather than long trousers?” asked one driver who works in the southern city, which reaches temperatures of 45ºC in the shade in high summer – a time when trousers are uncomfortable to wear.
Another bystander said: “Everyone in this country is expected to learn English just to do their job in Spain. Taxi drivers, bar staff, waiting staff, shop assistants...everyone except politicians, who make themselves look silly in front of the rest of the world.”
