COVID-19: Bus drivers urge speedy payment of relief funds
WARNING: There has been a shortage of bus drivers for years, and firms might not be able to resume services if the drivers move to other jobs, a union chairman said
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
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.