Taxi leaders from the National Taxi Association (NTA) will be distributing lunch sets and bottled water to 1,000 taxi drivers who will be waiting in taxi queues at the Changi Airport terminals, supported by volunteers from the Cornerstone Community Services and Cornerstone Community Church, as well as the Changi Airport Group. This will take place over two days from 27 to 28 February 2020.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has significantly impacted the livelihoods of our taxi drivers. Ridership has plummeted, and the number of tourists coming to Singapore has fallen as well. As a result of the dip in the number of incoming tourists, the waiting time for taxi drivers at the Changi Airport terminals has gone up from an average of around 30 minutes to as long as three hours.
To take care of these drivers, Cornerstone Community Services and Cornerstone Community Church have sponsored 1,000 lunch sets for our taxi drivers. This kind gesture helped ensure that the drivers do not have to go hungry despite the long wait at the airport.
“Despite the current situation, our taxi drivers continue to queue at the airport terminals as the commuter ridership elsewhere is equally bad. The National Taxi Association has been working closely with the Government and the taxi operators to render necessary assistance to our taxi drivers. We are grateful for the assistance provided thus far, and kind donations of masks and food from various organisations. We hope that more can definitely be done to help drivers cope with business costs and to help boost ridership,” said Mr Ang Hin Kee, Advisor of the National Taxi Association.
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