The head of the city Taxi and Limousine Commission said Monday that for-hire drivers shouldn’t have to prove they can speak and understand English.

Many taxi and limo drivers never have a reason to use the language, Commissioner Meera Joshi told the City Council Transportation Committee.

“In a city with a significant immigrant population . . . where some for-hire-vehicles service providers may serve those immigrant communities almost exclusively, it is not clear that there is a . . . demand . . . for this language requirement,” Joshi testified.