Thanks to Covid-19, it has been more than one year that lives all around the world have been changed. Nowadays, we are hearing about the new version of this virus that started spreading from the UK called, English Covid-20.

Well, when there is nothing to do unless vaccinating all the people around the world, which is a time to take action, behavior changes are going to be the main thing we noticed up to now.

So, what to do? We all have to get along with it by obeying the rules, taking care, and using sanitation stuff to avoid getting the virus. As a PCO driver, this issue probably affected your work as well.

In this article, we are going to read in more detail how COVID-19 and covid-20 affect rider’s behavior and work life to see what prescriptions should be considered. As a PCO car driver, this issue probably affected your work as well

This article covers the items below

• What were the consequences of COVID-19 in recent years?
• How COVID affected rider and driver behaviors.
• How to protect you and your passengers.
• Vaccination is in process!
• Conclusion

The consequences of COVID in recent years

COVID, the nightmare every one of us experienced and still experiencing for more than a year, has changed many things in our lives including taking taxis. In the first days of this virus, many people started avoiding public and private transportation from buses to private drivers, and then, lockdowns made many people lose their careers. Although these days, the returning PCO drivers in the street are sensible, you have to be aware of some protection tips in order to stay safe and prepare a suitable environment for your passengers.

Generally, if you look at all the businesses, apart from those that provide sanitary supplies, all the trades experienced a fall, or even some of them were totally bankrupted. PCO drivers and the related jobs were not exceptional! So, if you had the same experience, don’t worry at all since it was completely a natural consequence of COVID-19 for PCO drivers.

Read more Learn a few driver tips to make the most of your Uber experience.

Coronavirus Impact on drivers and rider’s behavior

As we mentioned, after the pandemic announcement, many people refused to use any transportation other than their own vehicles. This caused a great decrease in using rideshare apps. Then, after lockdowns in different areas, made everything even worse as the number of riders was dramatically reduced! When most of people started working remotely, no teacher, professor, or student needed to go to school, what was the need for PCO drivers?

In general, the behavior changes of riders and drivers can be claimed like this:

Riders

1. Some people still refuse to use transportation services! (only a small group)
2. Some people prefer private hire rather than public transportation. (because they assume it is a safer option)
3. Most of the riders carry sanitary stuff. (this is a good point)
4. Every passenger wears a face mask and will probably ask you to wear it too. (Note that if they didn’t wear it, you should ask them to do it to keep you and your vehicle as safe as possible.)
5. Some of the riders avoid using your services if you don’t obey sanitary rules. (so, be careful about the rules)
6. Prefer to pay online rather than cash payment.
7. Sometimes it takes a cough to lose a passenger!

Drivers

1. Separate the driver’s area with plastic covers as much as possible.
2. Keeping the face mask during trips.
3. Offering a face mask to those passengers who don’t wear one, politely.
4. Using sanitary liquids after each ride.
5. Cleansing the whole vehicle after each work day.
6. Avoiding cash instead of online payments.
7. Sometimes it takes a cough to avoid accepting a passenger!

We were all hopeful that COVID-19 would disappear soon but suddenly, COVID20 was found! Isn’t it just a disaster? Hopefully, nowadays good news of vaccination is announced.

How do protect you yourself and your passengers?

Well, protecting should be reviewed from two points of view:

1. Riders
2. Drivers

Riders

1. If you are going to take a private driver for a short distance, try to walk instead as it is safer.
2. Among private cabs and other ways of transportation, hiring a private driver is much safer as fewer people use them and you can choose to have a private trip rather than being with other riders in the same vehicle. We recommend you avoid taking any kind of bus or train for trips and use a private hire cab instead.
3. Don’t forget to wear a face mask, plastic gloves, shields (if necessary), and other protection equipment.
4. Payments on rideshare apps are safe as there is no cash between you and the driver. If you have to pay or receive cash from the driver, remember to refuse politely or put it somewhere that doesn’t access any other accessories you.
5. If the driver doesn’t wear a face mask, remind them to wear one.

Drivers

1. Always keep extra face masks in your dashboard to offer the passengers if they don’t wear any.
2. It is a good idea to completely clean your car after a long workday. If you don’t have enough time, then try not to let any of your family members get in the car.
3. After each ride, if it is possible, cleanse the passenger seat with alcoholic sprays. This way you both protect the next passenger and you.
4. If it is possible, separate the driver’s seat from other seats and ask the passengers to take place in the back seats, not the front.
5. If you are going to help the rider with the baggage, try to keep your distance as much as possible.

Of course, everyone knows better how to be protected but we tried to mention some of the most important and easily forgotten tips. If there are any other ways you feel can be helpful, add them to your daily ‘to-do’ list. You may also like to read this article a safer driving in winter for Uber drivers.

Vaccination is in process!

Hopefully, in recent months, vaccination is in process and many cities have finished vaccinating all ages. In other words, we are going to have the same life before Covid. Of course, we had a bad time during the pandemic, many of us experienced this disease or even some of us lost our beloved in this way. However, fortunately, it is going to end soon! So, if you are not vaccinated yet, please keep the protection until the same life is brought back.

Conclusion

After more than a year of living with COVID, we all get used to it and more people are trying to use protection tips as more people are infected by this virus. Note that only worrying about this issue doesn’t work at all and you can’t lockdown you and your family for it. All you need to do is to protect yourself and your riders during trips. Hopefully, the number of people getting back to the private hire drivers is increasing and you can be more hopeful for the future of this career.