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Lynn City Councilor Wants Taxi Drivers To Speak English

LYNN (CBS) – A city councilor in Lynn doesn't want anyone driving a cab if they can't speak English.

In the last two license committee hearings, about forty people applied for a license to drive a cab in Lynn.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports

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"Six or seven of them couldn't speak a word of English," City Councilor Darren Cyr told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Thursday.

That was a red flag for Cyr.

As a member of the license committee, he wants to make it a requirement that if you want to drive a cab in Lynn, you have to be able to speak English.

He's concerned about passengers who might have a medical emergency in a taxi.

"If someone's in the back seat and they're having a heart attack and English is what they speak, no matter whether the driver is Spanish or Vietnamese, whatever their nationality may be, if they cannot speak English, it puts the person in the backseat in harm's way," Cyr said.

"You, at least, have (to have) a knowledge of the English language, as well as be able to read English."

The proposed regulation would also require that city cab drivers live in Lynn and that you've had a clean record for at least the last five years.

WBZ's Carl Stevens contributed to this report.

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