Travel with confidence in a COVID-safe taxi in Herts

County cabbies are being offered free online training to keep themselves and their passengers safe during the coronavirus pandemic.

Taxi drivers who successfully complete the course can display a ‘Travel with Confidence’ sticker in their cab or private hire vehicle.

This is meant to offer a clear sign to customers that the risk of contracting COVID-19 during their journey has been minimised.

The course is being rolled out across the county by the Herts and Beds Licensing Group, with funding from Hertfordshire’s director of public health Jim McManus, following a successful pilot in Watford.

In addition to the stickers, those drivers who complete the course also qualify for £100 towards the cost of a Perspex screen to separate the driver’s compartment.

Oliver Rawlings, service manager of licensing and enforcement at East Herts and chair of the Herts and Beds Licensing Group, says the roll-out of the course recognises the proportion of drivers who may be more vulnerable to the serious effects of COVID-19 – either because they are from a BAME background or because of their age.

But he also pointed to the significant proportion of regular customers who have underlying health concerns themselves – often using taxis or private hire vehicles to travel to and from hospital.

And he hopes passengers will specifically ask for vehicles where drivers have completed the training.

“It’s about drivers protecting themselves and their customers,” said Mr Rawlings.