Officials say app taxi drivers' Estonian language skills are still poor

The Estonian Language Board and the Tallinn Municipal Police (MuPo) have found that app-based taxi drivers continue to have poor Estonian language skills. While Bolt requires drivers to pass a language test, the company acknowledges that drivers may not always complete the tests themselves.
Complaints about app-based taxi drivers' lack of Estonian language skills have been made for years, Thursday's "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported.
In an attempt to fix the problem, over the last four months, Bolt has required all drivers to take a language test to prove they can speak B1 level Estonian. This should ensure drivers can hold basic conversations.
But not all drivers meet the requirements.
Both the Language Board and the MuPo are concerned about the issue. The two agencies have conducted hundreds of inspections of taxi drivers over the past year, and the problem only exists among app-based drivers.
"Forty percent of these individuals can speak the language, but 60 percent cannot. Many of them are from foreign countries, and companies hire them," said Kristjan Haljasoks, a senior specialist at MuPo.
"We can never predict when a passenger might face a serious health issue or have an urgent need in the back seat of a taxi. If the driver doesn't understand what the passenger is saying, it can lead to very bad outcomes," he added.
"The situation is poor. There have not been any complaints or issues with Tulika Taxi drivers. However, with others, whether they are self-employed or working under different labels, including Bolt and other platform services, the problems persist. During one inspection, four taxi drivers were stopped, and none of them spoke Estonian. That makes it 100 percent non-compliance during that specific operation," explained Merle Loodus-Adamson, head of supervision at the Language Board.
Bolt says it receives around 10 complaints each month about drivers' language skills.
The company is also aware that some foreign drivers have Estonians take the language test on their behalf.
"Of course, we communicate with the drivers, and we understand that with a large enough group of people and sufficient motivation, someone will always try to cheat the system," said Bolt's development manager Henri Arras.
Bolt has terminated cooperation with over 700 drivers due to their failure to pass the language test.
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Editor: Merili Nael, Helen Wright
Source: Aktuaalne kaamera