GMB NATIONAL 

There is no light at the end of the tunnel for drivers who desperately need help save their livelihoods and their sector

The UK’s taxi and minicab industry will collapse without urgent financial assistance, GMB has told the Chancellor.

In a letter to Rishi Sunak, the union outlines the importance of the country’s largest transport sector – which sees 350,000 drivers perform services from private journeys to NHS patient transport, school and vulnerable children transport services and vulnerable adult transport services.

Through the pandemic, demand has plummeted with many operators reporting an 80% drop in bookings month upon month.

Huge numbers of professionally licensed drivers have left the industry, while the serious financial hardship suffered by others has led to a sharp rise in mental health issues.

Yet the mainly self-employed drivers have fallen between the cracks when it comes to financial assistance.

GMB is calling on the Chancellor to meet to discuss how the sector can be saved.

https://www.gmb.org.uk/news/taxi-and-minicab-industry-verge-collapse