You would think this to be a no-brainer for every city in America, but increasingly, California is not really a part of America.
Responding to citizen complaints (ya think?), the city council of California’s capital city has passed new regulations that require licensed taxi drivers there to speak english (or at least to have “basic English skills”), and to wear “professional” clothing, and to drive cabs that are no older than eight years.
Naturally, Kazman Zaidi, the president of the Sacremento Taxicab Union thinks this is terribly unfair, especially the English-only part. Although Zaidi estimates that more than 100 of the 500 or so drivers in the area may not be able to pass the test, he insists that they are still good drivers. “Why is the city causing trouble for our cab drivers?” he said. “This is really discrimination.”
I’m betting that if the taxicab union chooses to contest this, the California courts will agree with him.