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Surly taxi drivers to sit conversation test
Would-be cab drivers in Walsall could soon have to hold a 15-minute conversation with an examiner to prove their ability to keep passengers entertained on a journey.
Similar to a school foreign language oral, the test will involve drivers discussing topics such as their favourite places in the West Midlands. But subjects will be mixed up to avoid drivers learning them off "parrot fashion".
The test, expected to be approved by Walsall Council at a meeting on July 30, was originally designed after concerns about foreign drivers' standard of English. But council chiefs hope it will also help root out surly taxi drivers in the town.
Future taxi drivers would have to pass a series of tests to show they can read road signs, chat to passengers, write receipts and do basic mathematics, as part of an initial assessment as for the licence application process. But the plan could face opposition from local drivers.
Aurang Zaib, 46, who has been a taxi driver in Walsall since 1984 said: "It makes no sense at all to me, drivers need to be concentrating on what they are doing on the roads, it is no good them chatting away to customers and then ending up in Birmingham instead of Bloxwich."
Sajid Hussain, 35, manager of Walsall Radio Cars added: "A lot of taxi drivers can do their job properly but they may not be particularly well spoken.
"Obviously it is important they are polite and can talk to customers and keep them happy but many don't communicate well, although I have never had a complaint about drivers being rude."
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