The Kuo-Kuang Motor Transportation Workers’ Union yesterday urged the government to give relief funds to bus operators to cover their drivers’ salaries as quickly as possible after a nationwide level 3 alert for COVID-19 led to a sharp decline in passenger numbers.
Bus companies could previously generate at least NT$12 million (US$434,201) in revenue per day during the Dragon Boat Festival, but last year daily revenue dropped to NT$8 million as many people preferred to use private vehicles due to the pandemic, union chairman Yang Rong-de (楊榮德) said.
Due to the level 3 alert and people being encouraged to stay at home as much as possible, the number of passengers using public buses is expected to fall further during the festival this year, which begins on Saturday next week, he said.
After the Central Epidemic Command Center on Tuesday last week announced that the level 3 alert would be extended to June 14, the final day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, the number of bus tickets sold for the first day of the holiday has fallen from about 10,000 in previous years to 1,000 this year, he added.
In view of the drastic decline in the number of passengers, Kuo-Kuang Motor Transportation Co has cut more than 50 percent of its services and encouraged drivers to take paid leave or to agree to go on furlough, Yang said, adding that this has placed drivers under great economic strain.
“There has been a shortage of drivers in the bus industry for years. The pandemic could cause more bus drivers to switch to jobs with higher pay, such as driving large trucks, and bus operators would be unable to resume full services once the restrictions are lifted. We hope the Ministry of Transportation and Communications can see the bigger issue here,” he said.
The union urged the government to as soon as possible distribute relief funds to bus operators, who desperately need the “life-saving money.”
The funds given to bus operators should be calculated based on the size of their fleet, Yang said, adding that the funds should be used to subsidize drivers’ salaries.
Bus drivers should also be placed on the priority list for vaccination, he said.
In related news, the Taiwan Railways Administration yesterday announced that it would cancel 162 services — 71 on weekdays and 91 at weekends — on its schedule from Wednesday next week to June 14 due to the extension of level 3 alert.
The 120 additional services that it planned to provide during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday would also be canceled, it said.
Tourism train services have been canceled until June 30, it added.
The number of high-speed rail services to be offered during the holiday is to be reduced from 832 to 464, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp said on Monday.
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