New service: English-speaking taxi drivers now available for tourists in Budapest
Tourists arriving in Budapest can now request English-speaking taxi drivers with verified language skills, thanks to a new collaboration between Bolt and the Speak! language school. This new service follows an intensive language training course for drivers.
English-speaking taxi drivers now available in Budapest
The training, which was optional and focused on real-life scenarios, covered common situations that arise during taxi rides. This included handling questions about navigating the city, local landmarks, and popular spots, turizmus.com reports.
Out of the 500 drivers who completed the training, around 20% already had language qualifications when the programme began.
With these drivers included, the new service now features over 650 English-speaking taxi drivers.
Bolt’s Hungarian office reports that this new feature is a response to the increasing demand for English-speaking drivers, driven by the growing number of international visitors. Last year’s data revealed that nearly half of their passengers were foreign, with this number spiking to 60% in the summer.
László Sabjányi, Bolt’s Managing Director in Hungary, is optimistic that by 2025, most of their drivers will be available in this new English-speaking category.
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The stats say it all. 50% foreign customers rising to 60% during summer. The paltry share of local passengers obviously includes corporate travel on expenses yet tourists still represent between 5 and 6 in 10 of Bolt’s travellers? This speaks to the deep poverty most Hungarians are living in, the sort where taking a taxi is a luxury far beyond their reach. Hungary is starting to feel poorer in terms of standard of living than it did 20 years ago, when a basket of groceries didn’t require a mortgage and youngsters would routinely take a taxi home from a night out.