Some Vancouver taxi drivers still required to wear masks despite Uber change

When it comes to taking an Uber, you or your driver are no longer required to mask up, but some Vancouver cab companies are promising clients their drivers will continue to wear a face-covering.

Carolyn Bauer, GM of Yellow Cab Vancouver, says over 50 per cent of customers are nervous about drivers not wearing a mask.

“I receive a lot of phone calls, there are a lot of people who are still nervous,” Bauer told CityNews on Friday.

A lot of elderly people rely on cabs to get around, she says, mainly because it’s a service they are familiar with and trust. This is something Yellow Cab in Vancouver has taken note of.

“We have hospital trips, cancer treatment trips, just an over abundance of seniors getting out to just do their grocery shopping,” Bauer said. “We have to take every precaution necessary not to spread it. It’s not even necessarily the COVID that’s going around right now, there’s a lot of other really hard hitting coughs and colds that are going around too, and that mask does seem to prevent it from spreading out.”

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Bauer says riders are not required to wear a mask while in Yellow Cabs, although there is a plastic covering between the driver and passengers.

Cab drivers seem to be on-board with idea of wearing masks as well, according to Bauer.

“The fellows still wear their mask if they walk in the Yellow Cab office, they don’t come in without the mask on. I think it’s just a courtesy, it’s not just COVID. There’s are a lot of communicable diseases out there that can be transferred.”

If a driver is seen with passengers, not wearing a mask, and Yellow Cab is alerted, they get a reminder, Bauer says.

“I still talk to them on a daily basis, because I’ll get a customer that says ‘your driver wasn’t wearing a mask.’ So we’ll call the driver, and we’ll let them know ‘You have to wear your mask, you have to keep your mask on when the customers are in the car.'”

Black Top & Checker Cabs told CityNews, it also requires its drivers cover-up.

Bauer adds, it will be up to each cab company whether they want to require their drivers to wear a mask.