logo
logo
Sign in

Covid-19 Vaccination Exercise for Taxi and Private-Hire Drivers in Singapore Started

avatar
Singapore Train

The vaccination drive for front-line land transport workers in Singapore started in February 2021. This is a part of the joint effort by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH), supported by the National Taxi Association (NTA), the National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA), and the taxi and private-hire cars (PHC) operators like SMRT, TransCab, Premier Taxis, and others. The scheme aims to vaccinate more than 80,000 eligible cabbies and private-hire drivers. More than 50,000 drivers have already received their COVID-19 vaccination at polyclinics, vaccination centres, and Public Health Preparedness Clinics in February 2021. 

COVID-19 Vaccination Exercise Details
Eligible cab drivers in Singapore received text messages with an online appointment booking link for their COVID-19 vaccination. They can book an appointment at their convenient time at one of the designated polyclinics or vaccination centres in Singapore. As of February 14, 2021, more than 14,000 workers received their first vaccination jabs and more than 10,000 received their second doses.

Senior Minister of State for Transport, Dr Amy Khor, said: “Vaccination is another means to protect themselves, their families and their community. It will give them greater peace of mind, as well as give greater assurance to their commuters.”

What Cab Drivers Did So Far?
Since the pandemic hit Singapore in March 2020, cab drivers and PHC drivers have been maintaining good personal hygiene. They clean their vehicles daily and maintain safe management measures for the commuters and their own safety. The drivers have now participated in Singapore's vaccination strategy to provide greater assurance to commuters and maintain their own safety.

COVID-19 Support for Taxi Drivers
The government of Singapore contributed $45 million to assist taxi and private hire car drivers in the form of the Special Relief Fund. Taxi operators like SMRT Taxis also offered support to their taxi partners to help them tide over the COVID-19 outbreak. As the dominant taxi operator, it provided up to $4.8 million to help taxi partners, waived their rental fees as well as offered medical care for drivers’ family members under certain circumstances. 

SMRT CEO Neo Kian Hong commented on its COVID-19 efforts: “We have helped our taxi and private hire partners and retail property tenants by giving them rental rebates to tide over the COVID-19 impact. The pandemic has brought the Company together and it has served as an impetus to drive change.” Neo Kian Hong further added, “COVID-19 has impacted the way we live and work. However, it is also a test of our character as we need to ensure continuity of service to our commuters while protecting the safety and well-being of our frontline employees and taxi partners.”

Grab, a ride-hailing transport service provider, announced relief initiatives for drivers, delivery SMRT, Neo Kian Hongand merchant-partners in March 2020. Grab leaders took up to a 20 percent salary cut to help drivers in the worst times of the pandemic. Other PHC operators also assisted cab drivers also leaned forward to support their drivers during this difficult period.

Conclusion
The vaccination exercise for taxi drivers and cabbies is an important step in moving Singapore into recovery mode. The educational campaigns on television and radio have helped to increase awareness about the COVID-19 vaccination. As more and more land transport operators will receive their vaccination doses, commuters will gain full confidence in taking public transportation services as they used to do before the pandemic hit the country.

About the Author
Miang Koh
Miang is a social worker and is volunteering in raising awareness about the COVID-19 vaccination. He is a professor of psychology at a university in Singapore. In his free time, he loves to share his knowledge about things that can make society happy and healthy.

 

collect
0
avatar
Singapore Train
guide
Zupyak is the world’s largest content marketing community, with over 400 000 members and 3 million articles. Explore and get your content discovered.
Read more