“We’re not demanding that all TVDE drivers speak Portuguese”, assures MP
The PSD (party with 78 seats in parliament) has today recommended that the PSD-CDS-PP government make a number of changes to TVDE driver certification, not least allowing passengers to hail a ride with a driver speaking Portuguese.
“We’re not demanding that TVDE drivers speak Portuguese, we think that would be disproportionate at this time and unjustifiable from an economic and business point of view, but we realise that there are people who demand it, people who want to speak Portuguese,” said MP João Vale e Azevedo.
In a draft resolution presented at a press conference in parliament today, the party proposes recommendations, that the government:
- limit TVDE driver certification exams to the IMT (Institute of Mobility and Transport)
- ensure that users of these digital platforms can choose a language spoken by the driver ‘through a filter that shows which languages are spoken by drivers’
- urge TVDE operations to create measures to promote safety, such as a panic button that allows passengers to share their location, or call the police
- speed up implementation of the data platform already announced by the IMT to combat the falsification of TVDE documents
- waives the TVDE renewal course for holders of taxi licenses
The measures, explained the MP, are not intended to create new obstacles for drivers using the platform, but rather close loopholes and failings that have been identified. “We just want greater rigour”, he said. “So we recommend that the government rigorously inspect the sector”.
João Vale e Azevedo “lamented” what he described as “difficulties in supervising and regulating the activity on the part of authorities on the ground”.
The TVDE sector has recently become the brunt of a lot of criticism, not least of drivers who simply have no knowledge of the areas in which they are operating.
There have been other ‘urban-type myth’ stories, of TVDE drivers sharing shifts, with one sleeping in the boot, while the other works.
There have also been stories of women passengers particularly feeling unsafe.
Generally, the sector needs a smartening up of its image, in other words. ND
Source material: LUSA
