Page 10 - DRIVE A2B April 2020

UPDA TE

Navigating

the NSW

NEW Taxi Industry
SOUTH
WALES through the

NEWS COVID-19

Outbreak

The NSW Taxi Industry has been significantly
impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak in
NSW. There has been a tremendous loss in
demand for taxis, as the Federal Government
brought in various restrictions on social
gatherings and movement of people to
prevent the spread of the virus. This further
led to the closure of pubs, clubs, venues, as
well as the restrictions on Sydney Airport,
which led to an historic fall in demand for
taxis in NSW.

Whilst the industry has been impacted from
the loss of demand, taxis are an essential
service, particularly during the COVID-19
situation. Taxis are a safer mode of transport
and have also adopted a robust cleaning and
sanitisation process for all vehicles. The NSW
Taxi Council worked with the Chief Medical
Officer at Transport for NSW, as well as the
Point to Point Transport Commissioner,
to produce a taxi specific cleaning video
for drivers and operators. The aim of the
video was to also instil confidence with
members of the public that taxis are a safer
mode of transport, particularly during the
COVID-19 outbreak, as taxis offer a more
controlled environment versus other modes
of transport.

10