THE WAY I SEE IT: NPHTA
INSIGHT FROM NORTH OF THE BORDER
We welcome a contribution from Nadeem Hussain, NPHTA Board member from Glasgow, who puts his realistic slant on the current situation:
It has been an extremely painful and sorrowing last few weeks. The killer COVID- 19 pandemic has impacted people’s lives around the world in ways perhaps even the most creative movie director couldn’t replicate.
Sadly, this is most definitely not a movie, and the reality which we now face is indeed for survival: survival of human life, survival of our way of life, and survival of the very businesses we have built over many decades. The taxi and private hire trades are very much in this category.
The trade was having a great many difficulties as it was, preparing for Clean Air Zones and possible charges; purchasing expensive cabs, and a constant stream of pubs and clubs that were closing their doors even before the pandemic. Then when the Prime Minister announced the lockdown, that was the end of any type of earning ability that a great many of us could make from taxis.
It demonstrated how fragile the taxi industry really is; how dependent we are upon one another. If the hospitality trade is doing well, we tend to get some of that our way; when they are impacted, we suffer too.
Great Britain’s world famous NHS has again come to the forefront and we all wish them the best of luck in helping keep us all safe through this pandemic. It’s not over, not by a long shot. We can only hope and pray that as a nation we recover quickly once this is over, and as a taxi trade we can survive, because our very existence is now cause for concern.
We are looking out for various trade reps to give the call where we can all assist in helping our NHS workers in any capacity we can. Of course, we will also conform to all government advice and act as instructed.
The recent lockdown by government has come as a great shock to the nation. The message is that COVID-19 does not discriminate and we have sadly seen this all over the country. It begs the question then: how the public who must travel try to use the safest mode of transport available to
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them at these most trying times in living memory?
First...let’s look at government advice. Stay two metres apart. Yes, keep your distance. Supermarkets and pharmacies have immediately adopted this approach. In addition, only two individuals can be permitted to go out unless from the same family, but two in general as well as no “gatherings” or crowds anywhere. We have seen the police in certain communities enforcing this.
What then are the options?
Public transport by way of the trains, underground services, buses, and almost anywhere else that encourages gatherings are NOT to my mind the safest way to travel.
Looking at our local buses, it’s like any busy Saturday night. The buses aren’t full, but the number of buses they are running, between our two local bus companies, is astounding. Every few minutes there are three, four, five buses nigh on empty but with a handful of customers on them. Surely a bus is the last place you’d want to be during this time!
That then leaves only one option that can help keep a traveller safe: the famous black cab.
This isn’t about promoting one form over the other but simple common sense. A partition in a traditional black cab helps keep the distance between the passengers and the driver. We have seen examples of black cab drivers disinfecting the cabin after each hire, spraying down the doors and handles. If you must travel, even if it’s a couple of quid extra, surely this is the safest most reliable professional form of transport.
Like most individuals who do not work a circuit, I am too, like hundreds of other professional black cabbies, ready and willing to assist our magnificent NHS staff anywhere any time.
God bless our NHS workers and keep them safe.
May we all stay safe and healthy.
MANCHESTER: THE TRADE RALLIES ROUND
Predictably, our NPHTA Board member in Greater Manchester, Sham Raja, has been rather busy lately. That’s the nature of the beast; he’s been active in the trade for over
three decades and is still working and lobbying for licence holders in the North West at every opportunity.
Last month he took on a different, additional role: that of ambassador for the elderly, or self-isolating, or otherwise restricted people who cannot leave their homes during the current COVID-19 crisis.
Sham told us: “The trade in the centre of Manchester is literally on its knees… less than 50 per cent of the cabbies are working. They’re not ranking up of course, and there’s just not a lot of work. They can go three to four hours between jobs; some have earned £17 to £20 for four hours’ work.
“A lot of the private hires are worried; they’re sitting at home, waiting for more Government guidelines. In reality the recently announced self-employed scheme doesn’t help the trade, at least not straight away.
“All we can do is to try to help the elderly and housebound people, via food banks run by the various charities. We’re working with Rainbow Surprise at the moment, buying food and milk and delivering it to the elderly. We’re also doing deliveries from the main supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Iceland – around north Manchester as far up as Bury.
“Through our Food Drive Project we’re collecting and delivering the following food items: tea bags, biscuits, snack bars, pasta sauce, pasta (when you can find it!), tinned meat and fish, long life fruit juice, tinned soup, tinned veg, instant mash, UHT long- life milk, jam, tinned rice pudding, cereals and rice.
“We also need non-food items such as deodorant, toilet rolls (when you can find them!), shower gel, shaving gel, shampoo and soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, sanitary towels, baby supplies, washing up liquid, bin liners.
“If anybody can donate any of these items please get in touch with us immediately so we can distribute them. You can phone or text me on 07769 972786 or email me at
shamraja7861@gmail.com”
Sham himself is having to take extra-special care at this time as he is the carer for his 95- year-old mother. He also had to spend a week in hospital himself a couple of months ago for a respiratory complaint. So – notwithstanding social distancing and other precautions – he is as active as ever, and encourages any licence holder in the north Manchester area to take part in their Food Drive Project.
APRIL 2020
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