Uber is facing new trouble in Europe. This time, Public Transport Body for London (TfL) wants to require Uber drivers pass an English language test among other regulations that it originally intended to implement Oct. 1st.
However, Uber has now won the right to take TfL to court in order to challenge these possible new regulations.
As Fair Languages reported Uber took a different path in other markets, namely Colombia and Brazil, since it has partnered with language startup Duolingo in order to allow customers to exclusively request English-speaking Uber drivers.
The new service is called UberEnglish and customers can now directly request a Duolingo certified English-speaking driver via the Uber app in both countries. Through the partnership Uber has outsourced the individual interview process to test whether a driver is capable of communicating in English. According to Duolingo, more than 1,000 drivers have opted to learn English and take the test in Colombia, and more than 1,400 drivers have already signed up in Rio.
Tags: Duolingo • English • Language Technology • language test • London • News • uber • UK