TRANSPORT union RMT called on the government today to mobilise 75,000 taxi drivers as an emergency service helping isolated families during the coronavirus outbreak.

Public transport is being wound down due to the crisis, and the public is being urged not to travel.

RMT said older and vulnerable people are struggling to get to shops, while pharmacies face difficulties in delivering the volume of prescriptions needed.

Licenced taxi drivers could be used to create a “high quality ‘drop off’ service able to connect people from their front doors to shops, pharmacies and other critical services,” RMT said.

RMT said drivers should be put on the government’s payroll, which would “throw a vital economic lifeline to more than 75,000 self-employed taxi drivers who are facing the collapse of their trade.”

The union’s general secretary Mick Cash said: “This is a win-win idea for the government.

“At this time of crisis, we have increasingly isolated communities and families needing door-to-door contact with shops and critical services, being advised not to use public transport, and we have more than 75,000 highly skilled, trusted licenced taxi drivers who need a lifeline to survive.

“This is a time for government to show imagination and resolve and match a highly skilled resource to an increasingly desperate need.

“Public transport operators have started slashing services due to the coronavirus.”

RMT also called on the government to introduce emergency powers enabling local authorities to take over bus services to ensure communities and the most vulnerable do not become isolated.