The Department of Land Transport has begun installing acrylic partitions inside taxis to prevent the spread of droplets during the Covid-19 pandemic under a pilot project to install this device in 3,000 taxis within October.
Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob on Thursday chaired the opening ceremony to launch the first group of taxis installed with partitions under the ministry’s new-normal initiative to boost public safety and confidence in using hired passenger vehicles.
Attending the event were Department of Land Transport director-general Jirut Wisanjit, SCG Chemicals Co president Thanawong Areeratchakul, senior officials from the ministry, executive of the company and taxi drivers.
Mr Saksayam said all businesses had to adjust themselves to prevent the spread of Covid-19. To help taxi operators and drivers, the government has assigned the Transport Ministry to consider measures to prevent the spread of the virus in public transportation and raise incomes for taxi drivers.
The department has come up with a pilot project to install partitions inside taxis to prevent the spread of droplets during talks, coughing or sniffing, said the minister, adding a total of 3,000 taxis have joined the pilot project.
Mr Jirut said SCG Chemicals Co had designed the partitions, which were made of high-quality acrylic' They were easily installed in both medium-sized and large vehicles and would not affect visibility or other safety systems inside the vehicles, he added.
The installation of partitions started on Sept 16 and all 3,000 participating taxis will be fitted with them by October, he said.
Taxis with partitions will have a sign on windshields to let passengers know. Passengers can rate their experiences by scanning the QR Code on the partitions of all participating taxis, he said.