Stratford taxi driver impacted by pandemic calls for support - The Stratford Observer

Stratford taxi driver impacted by pandemic calls for support

Stratford Editorial 15th Mar, 2021   0

AN INDEPENDENT Stratford taxi driver says the pandemic has seen work become virtually non-existent.

Kevin Jones has been a Hackney carriage taxi driver in the town since 1994, and runs his own business ‘Kev’s Cabs’.

But the pandemic has seen business dry up, and currently he is taking only 10 per cent of his usual wages, with hardly any work at night.

The 48-year-old said: “It’s been very hard recently, there’s no getting away from it. I went out to work one Sunday and didn’t have a single job.




“You often have to sit in the taxi rank on Union Street for hours at a time without anyone getting in, and there’s very few people hailing cabs either.

“It was tough for licenced drivers before the pandemic with the rise of companies like Uber, but the pandemic has made everything worse.”


Kevin has been in the trade for more than 25 years and has since received two grants of nearly £3,000 from Stratford District Council.

He added: “The pandemic has devastated our businesses through no fault of our own, and we just need some extra support before the demand hopefully comes back.

“We’re an important way for people to get around so I’m happy the council has seen that too.”

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