If you are a taxi driver, you will undoubtedly have seen the number of fare-paying passengers that you have been picking up during the pandemic due to COVID-19 reduce significantly. Unfortunately, this will have had a huge detrimental impact on your income.

A recent survey undertaken by YouGov in early May 2020 revealed that 2% of adults taking part in the survey had used a taxi/ride share service for essential reasons during the pandemic, 1% had used such services for non-essential reasons during COVID-19 and 94% responded to the effect that he or she had not used such a service during the pandemic.

Therefore, in answer to the above question, it could be argued that the public is being considerate towards taxi drivers during the Coronavirus as the vast majority have not used a taxi service.

However, there will no doubt be many taxi drivers who wished that their services were being utilised by a lot more people. There will probably be customers who would normally be transported by a taxi firm, perhaps for work related purposes, but feel safer to make such a trip using their own transport i.e. their car. Of course, the information contained in our previous post relating to the number of taxi drivers, chauffers and cab drivers dying of the Coronavirus will not provide fare-paying passengers with any reassurance.

It remains to be seen when things are likely to get back to some form of normality as far as a taxi driver’s revenue is concerned. After all, a large number of taxi drivers’ work revolves around the hospitality and travel industries i.e. transporting customers to and from pubs and restaurants, to wedding events, to parties and to and from airports to drop off and pick up holidaymakers.

In passing, if the amount of miles you are driving your taxi has reduced when compared with the estimate you provided your tax insurer with when taking out the cover, have you thought about picking up the phone to the company providing your taxi insurance to enquire if it will consider refunding part of your premium or reducing the premium for the remainder of the policy year because it will possibility not be having to pay out as much as normal to meet claims for the likes of road traffic accidents? After all, at worst they can only say “no” but there is no harm in asking.