To really not want to take a taxi during COVID

[Jillybons]

I know there are bigger problems!

But my car needs to go to the garage for a few days and I’m still required to be in the office. Going to have to take a taxi but feel super nervous about it 🙁 AIBU?

Yanbu.
But if all the windows are open, there's a perspex divider and the driver is in a mask it should be ok.

Agree with the pp who are saying YABU. Risk is slight, illness is mild in most, many many people have been out and about throughout for work and have been fine. I'm really worried about how many people are never going to feel safe and insist on limiting their lives unnecessarily. I hope once the vaccine rollout is done, booster jabs scheduled as needed ec they do a bloody big Three Word Slogan telling people to Get Out There or Live Your Life or something

*SmidgenofaPigeon
Yeah. You need to sort your anxiety.

I’m typing this from the tube which I’ve been taking twice a day since the start.

Sorry but the pandemic has turned a lot of people into nervous wrecks, and it’s totally unnecessary to be this terrified for the vast, vast majority.*

I agree with this too ^ I was taking public transport to work with the public until I finished for maternity leave at 37 weeks pregnant in November.

The rule here in Melbourne is wear a mask, have sanitiser with you, sit diagonally behind the driver.

My husband has had to get 2 trains to work throughout lockdown and you're too special to get a taxi.

The first thought to me was whether you are really required to be in the office. The second is to check all your public transport options, as it may be possible, and buses have open windows (as I found out when going on one for my Covid vaccine).

Are you vulnerable to covid? People are getting the bus/ tube every day. Case numbers are now low. Taxis have a perspex screen, drivers wear masks. I don't see the problem.

It’s fine, I get the tube every day. It’s perfectly fine. I’ve been in taxis their fine too.

@HugeAckmansWife they really do need to do something positive like that. The problem is papers like the daily Mail scaremongering. Ppl read that crap and decide it’s gospel.

I really hope they have a genuine attempt to engage with the public and maybe talk to the mainstream media about how to put more reassuring messages out there. I know Eat out to help Out caused problems come Autumn but that was premature, pre vaccine. It did help the hospitality industry weather the storm though. Schemes like that, lots of politicians and insta types publicly getting out and about would help, plus some ongoing briefings with Witty et al giving good stats and positive messages when appropriate.

This is why my DF is struggling at work. Taxi drivers spent a lot of money at a time when they had little coming in to make the vehicles safe - the Perspex screens and seat covers (which are constantly wiped down) cost hundreds. They and passengers will wear masks and they've also now got contactless payment too. It'll be fine, and you might give someone one of their few hires that day.

YABVU and overly anxious. It’s just a taxi.

The problem isn't necessarily being vulnerable to covid. It's picking it up, being asymptomatic and passing it on which is the problem.

Separate to this post, the PP mentioning media etc - I'm not sure we will be told to get out and live life anytime soon. The government just agreed a £2m contract for media/advertising for covid. Starts April 2021 and runs to April 2023.
I may be wrong of course.

Yes but hopefully that might include messages about it being possible to live our lives WITH Covid provided x, y, z.

Personally I think yabu, but if it worries you that much, see if you can get a courtesy car from the garage, or hire one for a few days if you can afford it.

What do you think people who don’t have cars do? I don’t have a car, and I take public transport as normal.

I wouldn't get a taxi if I had any other option. Lots of garages will do home pick ups and delivery, or offer a courtesy car. I would try and find a garage that does. Alternatively, a taxi with a screen, open windows wide, wear a good quality mask.

I've had to take loads. 🤷‍♀️ Not a huge deal.

People need to arm themselves with statistics and develop their critical thinking skills. The number of new cases a day, the recovery rate, the chances of transmission from sitting in a car with just one person with a mask on and the window open. It’s really, really unlikely (to the point where it’s more likely you’ll have an accident on the way) that you’ll get covid or pass covid on in this way.

But people have lost their heads, intelligent, sensible people in many cases have just descended into misplaced panic. It’s a shame.

You will both wear masks, and be facing in the same direction. Ask for diagonally opposite windows to be a couple inches open for airflow. Do that and chances of transmission are tiny.

Peoples assessment of risk is off because of lockdown. You are exaggerating a tiny risk.

The risk is so tiny, it’s almost non-existent. You’ll both wear masks and there should be a Perspex screen divider. Open the window if you want.

I’m on 2 (inner city, packed to the limit) trains and 2 buses each day, for a year now, I haven’t had Covid. I also don’t get the choice not to go on them, so I can’t get anxious about it. It will be fine. Shops are worse in my opinion.

I've had to use taxis a few times for work. Windows open, both wear masks and sit diagonally behind the driver. They take contactless payments so no need to handle cash. I've felt quite safe. If you're really anxious about it, could you ask to WFH for a few days or take leave?

My DS was in school when his school friend, with whom he used to get a lift, was staying at home. We had to get a taxi daily to get him to school.

Drivers wore masks, we wore masks, windows were open, sometimes there was a screen between the front and rear of the cabin. I paid via my card on the taxi company's app to save having to give the driver cash (although my hands were washed and sanitized).

It'll be fine. It's really not worth worrying about. Ultimately you will suffer more through anxiety than you would from what you were worrying about, so I'd try to change that for your own sake.

You do as much as you can to mitigate risks and try not to stress over the rest. Remember the driver's livelihood relies on their continuing to work, avoiding getting infected and infecting customers, so it's in their best interests to be complying as much as they can too.

@crystalcherry87

My husband has had to get 2 trains to work throughout lockdown and you're too special to get a taxi.

Why so harsh? OP said she's nervous, not that she's too special to get a taxi. What your husband does is irrelevant