Taiwan Taxi (台灣大車隊) drivers have begun delivering food amid soaring demand for takeout food after the Central Epidemic Command Center raised the COVID-19 warning to level 3 on Wednesday last week.
The nation’s largest taxi operator made the announcement after local government officials in Taipei and other areas have banned restaurants, street food vendors, beverage shops and breakfast stores — including those in night markets and food courts of shopping malls — from offering dine-in services.
In addition to the taxi fleet, Taiwan Taxi also owns Global Express Co, which employs 26,000 scooter couriers delivering groceries for convenience store and supermarket chains, the company said.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Taxi via CNA
Yesterday, 22,000 Taiwan Taxi drivers joined Global Express couriers in delivering food from restaurants and hotels to customers, the company added.
“Other food delivery operators might restrict deliveries to certain areas and up to a certain amount, but our service targets deliveries of food from large hotels, high-end restaurants and large restaurant chains. We do not limit the deliveries to certain areas, which is ideal for those making medium and large orders,” Taiwan Taxi Group general manager Hero Yang (楊榮輝) said.
Businesses can use the service to order takeout food for employees who need to work in the office, despite rising numbers of local COVID-19 cases, he said, adding that orders would be delivered to addresses designated by the firms.
The service would not only help restaurateurs and hoteliers nationwide weather the pandemic’s effects on their operations, it would also generate business for taxi drivers, Yang added.
To access the service, people need to place an order and pay for it directly to the restaurant or hotel of their choice, the company said.
Hotels and restaurants that want to have the food delivered by Taiwan Taxi can call its 55688 service hotline, the company said.
Requests for food delivery would be assessed by Global Express, and orders that are large, heavy or could be deformed or shaken easily would be delivered by a taxi instead of a scooter, the company said.
The businesses would be informed about the delivery cost in advance, which they could pay with cash, credit card, electronic tickets or mobile payment methods, it added.
Taxi drivers are required to disinfect the vehicles before picking up orders, the company said, adding that it is the only taxi firm in Taiwan that pays for the full cost of vaccination for its drivers.
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