Coronavirus: Taxi drivers welcome financial support package plans

Taxi drivers have welcomed plans for a financial support package after meeting with the infrastructure minister.

Nichola Mallon has been given legal powers to come up with a scheme, which is expected to be brought to the executive on Thursday.

If agreed by ministers, support packages for both the taxi industry and coach operators are expected.

After bringing a paper to the executive, Ms Mallon will put in a formal bid with the finance minister.

Some drivers have fallen through the gaps in existing schemes and say customers have disappeared because of Covid-19 restrictions on hospitality and tourism.

Andrew Tomlinson, a driver for Value Cabs, welcomed the support plans discussed with Ms Mallon.

"We're still waiting on a figure, but after this amount of the time even if we get a small amount of money it will be better than nothing," he said.

"There was a point where we didn't think we were going to get anything.

"It's been a long battle to get to this stage but I'm hopeful now she has some good news once she gets to the executive and they sign it off."

He described not being able to return to work for the last seven months as "a nightmare".

"It's not knowing where your money's coming from, living off universal credit, which is a very small amount of money, and still having car payments and insurance," he said.

"There isn't the work that used to be there for us to go back to, it's quite scary."

Mr Tomlinson has multiple sclerosis and said he has not felt able to return to work due to social distancing in a taxi being "almost impossible."

"That's been the hardest thing, I'm itching to go back to work but at the same time I can't see how it's safe."

Jonathan McKeown, of Eastside Taxis, said he felt relieved after the meeting.

"We started campaigning towards the end of March when we realised how severe the first lockdown was going to be, after seven months I think we deserve what we heard today," he said.

"It's been tough, you fall into debt, overheads don't get met.

"In the first lockdown, a lot of depots did deferments on car payments which did help, but we're into another lockdown now and things aren't showing much sign of improvement."

North West Taxi Proprietors also welcomed the meeting and said it believed the scheme could come into effect by 9 November.

The announcement came following uncertainty over which Stormont minister could act to assist taxi drivers.

Ms Mallon has a role in regulating the sector, but insisted only Economy Minister Diane Dodds had the powers necessary to create a financial assistance scheme.

Ms Mallon then wrote to the first and deputy first ministers to ask them to designate the authority to establish a payment scheme, which was granted under the terms of the 2009 Financial Assistance Act.