Medellin taxi drivers bilingual
By Manuel Rueda, Editorial Director
Friday, March 12, 2010
Medellin´s city government is distributing 9,000 “phrase cards” that will facilitate communication between taxi drivers and their English speaking clients.
The cards will be distributed to taxi drivers affiliated to the city´s 34 cab companies and include English translations to fundamental expressions like “cuanto cuesta” and “por favor lleveme a…”
Medellin is currently preparing to host the IX South American Games which will begin on March 19 and the taxi cards scheme is one of many strategies being used by the local government to “internationalize” the mountainous city which is being visited by increasing numbers of foreigners who head there for business, conventions, or tourism.
In association with Medellin´s Centro Colombo Americano, the local government has also started to provide free English classes to people who are constantly working with tourists.
The first batch of students who will take a semester long English course at the Colombo and includes 18 taxi drivers and 32 people who are waiters, hotel staff, and guides.
There are no plans yet for free English classes in other cities in Colombia, but the bilingual phrase cards are expected to reach several cities around the country.
The Ministry of Commerce expects to distribute 32,000 of these phrase cards in different cities this year as it strives to “promote bilingualism amongst public service drivers” in order for users to feel they are being “offered a high level of quality service.”
Local taxi companies in Medellin say the new scheme brings them some relief. “Every day we get more people calling us to request a bilingual and reliable taxi driver” says Fabian Quintero, who manages one taxi company which manages 4,500 of the 26,00 taxis circulating in Medellin.
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