Taxi drivers say they are struggling to earn a living as passenger numbers plummet and many drivers fear pick-ups from airports due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Darwin taxi driver Raman Sekhon said he used to earn around $100 a day driving passengers across the city and picking up travellers from the airport.

But in recent weeks, he said his average hourly wage has dropped to just $7 an hour and had been lucky to earn $50 from a full day’s work since mid-March.

“We hardly make $100 a day in a 10-hour shift,” said Mr Sekhon.

“Only some people [are using taxis] and we see only 10 or 20 people coming from the plane. So you’re lucky in one hour [if] you’ll see one customer.”

Other drivers said they fear they will catch coronavirus at work, particularly from interstate passengers who are required to self-isolate upon their arrival into the Northern Territory.

“Everyone is afraid, it’s too dangerous,” said taxi driver Kazim Raza.

“If [the spread of the virus] gets very bad we’ll have to stop driving taxis. We’ll just stay home and self-isolate yourself, not go out.

“But there’s no other source of income. It will be hard to survive after.”

Taxi drivers hit by protective equipment shortages

The panic buying of personal hygiene products has left many drivers without access to hand sanitiser and gloves.

Blue Taxi Company owner Helen Pachos said she feared for the safety of her drivers.

She said she had already lost 50 per cent of her workforce.

“Despite all their willingness to still stay on the road and provide a service, we can’t access sanitisers, masks,” she said.

“What we have is what the drivers have self-sourced. It’s not adequate, it’s not enough.”

Ms Pachos said her company was trying to branch out to delivery services in order to keep drivers on the road and in work.

“We’re looking at ways to diversify,” said Ms Pachos.

“Parcel delivery, pharmaceuticals, the businesses transitioning to in-house delivery also, give us a call and we can all work together.”

Changes made to public transport providers to manage risks

The NT Government has announced free bus travel across the Territory’s public transport network to eliminate the need for cash transactions.

Buslink, which operates the public bus system in Darwin, said the front seats in buses were being removed to maintain distance between passengers and drivers and daily cleaning and sanitisation would be carried out.

The company said its drivers had continued to show up to work “in such challenging times.”

“People rely on public transport to get to the shops, to get to medical appointments and to get to work, and therefore Buslink continues to work with and take direction from relevant Health and Public Transport authorities to do everything possible to keep drivers and passengers safe,” it said in a statement.

Michael Kaine, from the Transport Workers Union, welcomed the changes but said there’s still room for improvement.

“We need to ensure that our drivers, who are on the frontline of this and in danger of prolonged exposure, are as safe as they can possibly be,” he said.

“We’d like to see physical spit screens; I know that doesn’t sound very nice but it’s a very practical thing that can be done to make sure that there’s a physical barrier between someone sneezing or coughing on the driver themselves.”

The NT has not had any recorded cases of community transmission of the virus.

– Source: ABC News – www.abc.net.au