Ukrainian refugees in Latvia may work as taxi drivers even if they don't speak Latvian, LETA news agency reported on Friday, citing the country's Road Transport Administration (RTA).
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2022) Ukrainian refugees in Latvia may work as taxi drivers even if they don't speak Latvian, LETA news agency reported on Friday, citing the country's Road Transport Administration (RTA).
"Ukrainian citizens who have fled Ukraine... are receiving the opportunity to work as taxi drivers in Latvia even if they don't know the official language of the country," Kristians Godins, Chairman of the board of the RTA, was quoted as saying by LETA.
Godins called on Latvians to treat foreign drivers with understanding in case of miscommunication or when they are unable to respond in Latvian.
The first two Ukrainians were registered as taxi drivers in Latvia on Friday.
Earlier this month, RTA issued a bylaw to block YandexGo mobile app, annulling the registration of YandexTaxi. Taxi drivers have appealed to the RTA not to halt operations of YandexTaxi, stating that blocking the app would hit ordinary taxi drivers and their clients the hardest.
Some 1.8 million Russians reside in Latvia, about 40% of them Russian-speaking. The republic has only one national language, Latvian. Russian has the status of foreign language.
In 2012, the country held a referendum on the status of the Russian language in the country. The majority of residents voted against giving it official status.
