The National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA) and the National Taxi Association (NTA) are working with taxi and private hire operators, as well as the Healthcare Services Employees’ Union (HSEU) to provide support to our healthcare professionals.
This collaboration will help ensure that our healthcare professionals can have access to transport services to and from work.
Supporting Our Healthcare Professionals
For a start, the associations have gathered a group of 200 drivers who have pledged their support to provide transport services to and from hospitals and/or medical facilities. This means that point-to-point transport bookings to and from these locations will be pushed to them, and that taxi drivers will try to cater to the demand at hospital taxi queues.
Both associations, together with the operators will continue to rally drivers, to assure them, and hope to garner at least 2,000 drivers who can pool together to support our healthcare professionals with their transport needs.
Taking Care of Our Drivers
To ensure that our drivers are equipped to take care of both themselves and their passengers, as well as keep their vehicles clean, the associations will be extending care parks to these drivers. The care packs will include items like masks, hand sanitisers and disinfectant spray etc. Additionally, the associations will be providing token incentives to drivers who pledged support.
Mr Foo Chi Yong, a taxi driver who went through SARs in 2003 shared, “I was part of a group of drivers who similarly pledged our support to provide transport services to and fro hospitals, and I am willing to do so once again to help out our healthcare workers. This is what we should do as Singaporeans, we help one another out. As a taxi leader, I will also continue to rally more of our drivers to do the same.”
“I am heartened that our drivers have stepped forward to provide support for our healthcare workers. The collaborative effort within the industry to help drivers and our healthcare workers is a commendable one. The taxi and private hire associations hope that more operators and drivers can come on board this “movement” to support our healthcare professionals, as they work tirelessly behind the scenes. Let us do more, and do together,” concluded Mr Ang Hin Kee, Advisor to NTA and NPHVA.
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