You are probably aware that Omicron, a variant of COVID-19, is said to be spreading rapidly in the UK as well as a number of other parts of the world. Possibly as a result, many businesses have cancelled their staff parties over the festive period and no doubt there will be a number of individuals, couples and families who were intending to go out to celebrate the New Year coming in who have decided to stay at home. There may also be people who were intending to travel overseas on holiday who have decided to stay at home.

Unfortunately, this will no doubt have had a detrimental financial impact on the income earned by some taxi drivers during what would, historically, have been a very busy period for many of them. This comes at a time when some taxi firms were getting back on their feet after a poor trading year in 2020.

Regrettably, it would appear that there is not a lot that taxi drivers can do other than to try to “weather the storm”. The Chancellor of the Exchequer recently announced a £1 billion package of assistance to businesses affected by the pandemic so perhaps some financial support can be obtained through that.

It is going to be interesting to see what further measures, if any, are put in place by the government to try to contain/reduce the coronavirus in 2022 and beyond. If changes are made then it may be that some will have a detrimental impact upon the hospitality trade and also the travel industry. If this is the case then that would have a negative financial impact upon a number of taxi firms who are partially dependent upon those industries for their income.

We will continue to keep our readers updated with any pertinent information relating to the coronavirus that may have an impact upon taxi drivers here in the UK. Let us hope that the situation quickly improves as soon as possible next year.