Private hire, taxi drivers worried about picking up sick passengers as Wuhan coronavirus cases mount

SINGAPORE – Worried about picking up sick passengers during the current Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, some private hire and taxi drivers are making extra effort to ensure their vehicles are clean.

TODAY spoke to 10 drivers, six of whom expressed concerns about ferrying passengers who are sick.

One Gojek driver, Mr John Luo, 36, said: “Of course I’m worried. You don’t know the history of the passenger, whether they are sick or well.”

Mr Luo now cleans his car almost every day with antibacterial soap, compared to twice a week before the number of infected people in Singapore started rising.

Grab driver Muhammad Ayaz Wan, 32, said that he was anxious when he had a passenger who wore a mask and was coughing.

“At first I was worried, but I did not choose to reject the ride as it is my source of income,” he said. “If I am picky, I might not be able to earn much.”

Another Gojek driver, who wants to be known only as Andy, 53, said that he only drops off passengers at the Changi Airport and hospitals, but does not do pick-ups from those locations as he is afraid that he might have a passenger with the virus.

ComfortDelGro driver Kirsty Foo, 60, said: “I’m definitely concerned. Let’s say now I pick up an infected passenger from the airport, the next customer will surely get it, too.”

Now, she makes it a point to give her passengers their receipt so that she can be traced if a customer gets infected with the Wuhan coronavirus.

KEEPING THEIR CARS CLEAN

Other drivers such as Gojek driver Henry Ang, 56, is not concerned about picking up sick passengers as he feels that he keeps his car clean.

“Prevention is better than cure,” he said. “I purify my entire cabin by rolling the windows down and turning off the recycle air button on my car’s air conditioner after every ride, so that the natural air can come in.”

Mr Ang also wears a face mask, sprays his car with disinfectant twice a day and has an air ioniser switched on throughout the day.

Another Grab driver, Mr Patrick Low, 65, who worked as a cabin crew during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak in 2003 for flights to China, is similarly unperturbed.

“I’ve been through a worse experience during Sars, so I’m not worried,” he said. “I know that there is a risk but what can I do?” He added that he goes about his job as per usual.

Some drivers have also seen a drop in passenger numbers by 20 to 50 per cent, and they suspect it might have to do with the virus.

Grab driver Muhd Khirman, 35, said that he has 10 to 20 per cent fewer passengers. Previously, before a journey ended, he would have a request from another passenger through the application, but he now has to wait longer in between rides.

“There are fewer passengers probably because now there is the virus and people try not to go out,” he said.

A frequent Grab commuter Clement Yue, 23, said that he is booking fewer Grab rides than before.

“In Grab cars you're in closer proximity with the driver and you don’t know who has ridden in it before,” he said. “At least in the MRT or bus if you see someone is sick, you can avoid them.”