The Crisis Chauffeur

No sooner had I published ‘How to be an airport transfer specialist’ the world went in to quarantine and all the airport bookings disappeared. New reservations dried up, cancellations flooded in and work simply stopped. There was something on the news about a virus back in December. It was in China but that was miles away. Like many people, I just didn’t make the connection. The SARS Virus from 2002 spread to other countries but it never really affected the UK. For all I knew, this was probably going to be the same.

With the current COVID-19 virus declared a global pandemic, it is an unprecedented time. As an airport transfer provider for business customers, we are now at a standstill. Business passengers have been instructed by their employers, not to travel. The United States has blocked flights from Europe. The risk of spreading the contagious outbreak from one nation to another is becoming a reality. Likewise, airports have witnessed massive reductions in passenger numbers. Since the start of March, most bookings we completed were to repatriate people with numbers declining all the time.

It is a volatile world we live in and things change all the time. Occasionally, something affects the travel industry on a very large scale. Sometimes you are behind the curve and other times you are at the cutting edge of what happens in the wider economy. After twenty years in the travel industry I have seen different things. The recession of 2008/9 was probably the first crisis Iencountered. It had a detrimental effect for DrivenByQ, but it was relatively short lived. Most companies cut back on their travel but luckily a few customers went into overdrive.

Just as we were recovering from the effect of the Global financial crisis, a volcano in Iceland erupted in 2010. The ash cloud it created blocked the airspace of Europe with its fine particles which could damage a jet engine. It was initially very concerning. I still remember seeing job after job being cancelled in just a matter of hours. Luckily, people could still travel but, just not by air. As a ground transportation provider, we suddenly boomed. We had some fantastic long-distance bookings. One of which went as far as Spain.

If anything, experience has taught me not to panic. Something usually comes along and makes up for the financial losses encountered. Luckily in the current environment, DrivenByQ has a mix of work which is mostly paid on account. This means, despite zero future bookings there should be money coming in for the next two months. Eventually it might run out, but it buys some time to formulate a plan. In addition, as we are a VAT registered company and submitting monthly figures to both HMRC and PAYE, any claim for assistance is verified.

For drivers who are self-employed and dealing mostly in the cash market, I worry for their future. The COVID-19 outbreak has been rapidly detrimental for their livelihood. It is different to anything before. This is because there is little opportunity to find an alternative income source as the crisis persists. While the country is in lock-down, people are advised to stay at home. On top of this, any financial assistance from the government will be based on annual profits rather than costs. That means anyone who purchased a vehicle or re-invested in their business could be penalised.

I guess we will just have to wait and see how things develop in the months ahead?