Covid-19 screen grant available to Sheffield taxi drivers

Sheffield City Council will contribute up to £80 towards the costs of taxi drivers installing a protective screen to comply with Covid-19 regulations in a new grant scheme.

The grants will be paid to all taxi drivers who are able to provide evidence showing that they have purchased and installed a screen, reimbursing them for the cost of putting the Covid-secure measures in place.

As City and Excel Taxis have already facilitated the installation of 1,000 screens in private hire vehicles in Sheffield, they will receive grants for all these vehicles and will directly reimburse any taxi driver that has contributed to the cost of installing one.

Taxi drivers who have installed a screen independently can apply for the grant by post and will receive a letter with further details on how to do this. The Council aims to make the payments within 4 weeks of receiving an application.

Councillor Julie Grocutt, Cabinet Member for Transport and Development at Sheffield City Council, said:

“Taxi drivers have been severely impacted by loss of trade due to the Covid-19 pandemic and have faced extra financial challenges to comply with Covid-19 safety regulations, whilst working to ensure that people have been able to make their essential journeys such as to work and to vaccination appointments.  Taxi drivers are the lifeblood of Sheffield’s economy and will be vital in our city’s recovery in the coming months, so it is important that we do all we can to support them now.”

Alongside the new grant for protective screens, Business Support Grants were also distributed to taxi drivers in South Yorkshire last year to help mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on their businesses.