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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC with our calling for taxi drivers and Uber drivers and anyone else in that business. Now that you've been made eligible by a wave of the hand of Governor Cuomo for the vaccine ahead of people and a number of other professions and many other professions, and we know it wasn't easy for you yellow cab drivers here in the city before the pandemic. Remember the call-ins we've done and the stories that were out there about many of you being hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt after taking out loans to buy medallions at artificially inflated prices, then that market crashed with the advent of Uber and other things.

Over a year ago, there was momentum in the city to bail out many drivers, but now with a city suffering financial loss at the government level that is so big, and Mayor de Blasio had already said the city couldn't afford a bailout, much of that momentum has evaporated. In that context came this. Oh my goodness. You tell us, did you take time off before the pandemic? Because of the pandemic, did you get COVID? How have you protected yourself and your passengers? It's the same thing, if you protect yourself from your passengers, you're protecting your passengers from you.

Will you get the vaccine? Is this good news? Is this life-altering news for you? 646-435-7280, and Nestor? Not Nestor. We'll start with Yaya in Westchester, you're on WNYC. Hello, Yaya.

Yaya: Hey, Brian. Good afternoon. Good morning, actually. I'm a long listener, and I've called before. I drive in Westchester [unintelligible 00:02:03] and I used to drive in the city, a yellow cab. I would definitely take the vaccine, looking forward for it because we're try to protect ourselves and the passengers as well. We do a lot of protections, we clean the cars. It's just procedure that we have to clean the car all the time. Can you hear me, Brian?

Brian: Yes, I can hear you fine. Yes, proceed. Tell me more about the procedure. Cleaning the car is one. Do you use a plastic shield between yourself and the passenger routinely?

Yaya: No.

Brian: Go ahead.

Yaya: No, we don't actually. I tried that plastic thing and it wasn't working for me. What we do actually, the front seat is not available. I have a bigger vehicle, we will have like two, four people to sit in the back. We open the windows both sides, and everyone must wear a mask and have to take a picture before we sign them that we agreed to do so. We do a lot of cleaning, a lot of sanitizing all the time after every passenger. Personally, I drove at the beginning and it was only driving, mainly driving people who worked on the front lines staffs, like doctors-

Brian: Healthcare workers.

Yaya: -and then nurses who [unintelligible 00:03:41] healthcare workers. Then I used to drive in also when it started in euro shop. At that time, it gets really bad. When it gets bad then in the March, I just stayed home. Likely, we applied for the unemployment. This is the first time for us to be included under unemployment, and they sit for about four months. Came back to work, is not much work but these people, they need us here. Those healthcare workers still rely on us. I'm glad that the Governor is taking a step to do so because we are really in contact with those people and they need us.

Brian: That is great. Yes, thank you very much. Yes, that was a whole other thing. How do people who are considered gig workers get unemployment and pandemic unemployment? That was a struggle. Now, this has been a struggle, but now taxi and Uber and Lyft and whatever the companies are, in addition to those included now on the vaccine eligible list.

Nestor in Jackson Heights, you're on WNYC. Hi, Nestor. Thanks for calling in. Nestor, are you there? Nestor once, Nestor twice. Let's try Ola in Queens. Hi Ola, you're on WNYC.

Ola 1: Yes, Brian, good morning. Thanks for taking my call. Long time listener. When the pandemic started, actually, I think about a month off, I didn't drive. I wanted to understand what was happening and all that. Well, I got back on the road, I have to do the cleaning routine and all that. I've been conducting a survey amongst the riders that I picked, I realized that people of color declined to take in a vaccine. We just have the discussion during the ride and they're just bent on not taking it, so maybe a lot of educations still needs to be done on that path, but I'm going to take the vaccine. It's not been funny. [chuckles]

Brian: The previous caller was talking about some of the precautions that he's taken in his car, a lot of sanitizing and opening the windows, and making sure the passengers wear masks. He said plastic shield between the front and the back seats didn't work for him. I'm curious if you chose to use or not use those, and then the one other that I've heard about, is maybe not using the heat or the air conditioning if it's recirculating air from inside the car?

Ola 1: Yes, the all cleaning routine is we try to clean as soon as we finish each ride, we have sprayers and aerosols, you just do that and you open the windows. As per the windows and all that, also depend on the ride, some people are crazy, some people come into the car, they don't care, they just want the windows off. They don't want to use the masks and all that. Just take it on case-by-case because you don't want crazy people going off on you on any trip. That's how I've been coping basically on the road.

Brian: Is this a new thought to you, the heat and the air conditioning? I know it's hard. It's really hot out or really cold out, you want to use the heat or the air conditioning, but this is another thing that I've heard, I wonder if it's considered practice in the business to not try to recirculate the air because then if the passenger is breathing, and they have COVID, and then it gets into the system, and then it's flowing right back on you in the driver's seat. Is that something that you and your colleagues think about?

Ola 1: Yes. Most times you want to just crank down the windows a little bit. Like I said, it's just on a ride-by-ride basis. Some people are really educated, they know what you're doing. They know that you don't want air circulating in a car, but some people still they don't want the windows, they want the windows all up and all that. It could be difficult sometimes, yes.

Brian: Oh, thank you. Stay safe out there. Here's another Ola calling. That was Ola in Queens. This is Ola in Manhattan. Ola, you're on WNYC. Hi there.

Ola 2: Hi Brian Lehrer. I'm a longtime listener, first-time caller.

Brian: Glad you're on.

Ola 2: Thanks for giving us this opportunity to be on the show once again. Yes, basically what we do is put down the windows. Even when it's cold, I put on the heat and increase the fan so it could blow the air but I make sure I put on the windows. I have the divider in the middle, but the divider is not that. It works, I'm not going to say it doesn't work but I believe it has some kind of protection too, but basically what I do is make sure the windows are down and every passenger that comes in has to wear the mask on.

That is non-negotiable at all because this is an airborne disease and it transmits through saliva or whatever that comes out of our mouth mostly. Basically with that, I think we're going to be fine, and I don't think I'm scared of nothing right now no more. Like I said put the precaution in place.

Brian: You're the second Ola in a row to talk about passengers who sometimes don't want to wear masks. It's outrageous that people would try to fight that. Have you gotten into disagreements with passengers and had to really enforce it or refused to take them?

Ola 2: Yes. Sometimes, it depends. Again, to be sincere, it depends on the part of the city. You're not going to get that in every part of the city, to be sincere. I'm a Black man. I get this a lot in the Black community whereby a lot of people don't want to put on their mask because they're on the ride. What I do is sometimes I cancel the ride, sometimes when I'm in a good spirit and I don't want to argue at all, I make sure I put the windows, the four glasses, I put them down completely.

When the passenger says, "Put the window up," I'll be like, "You have to put on the mask for me to even put the windows up. I'm not locking myself in a closed car with you not having a mask." Especially when they want to be on their phone talking. Sometimes, I cancel the ride, sometimes I try as much as possible to encourage them, and so many times, I handed out a mask. That I've done so many times, handing out the masks.

Brian: You carry some masks with you to hand out?

Ola 2: Yes.

Brian: Interesting. Ola, thank you so much. Stay safe out there. Nancy in the Bronx, you're on WNYC. Hi, Nancy.

Nancy: Hey, good morning, Brian Lehrer. It's a pleasure to be on your show.

Brian: Glad you're on. What do you drive?

Nancy: I drive a green cab and I am one of your biggest fans, so this is an exciting day for me.

Brian: Well, I'm so glad you're on.

Nancy: Thanks, Brian Lehrer. It's great to be on. I wanted to say I am more than willing and waiting for that vaccination. I thought it was long coming. I thought we would be part of the first priority and I didn't see that coming through, but now that it's happening, I'll be looking around and see when they announce if there's going to be a big vaccination site just for the cabbies or something planned along with the Mayor or something with TLC. I've been waiting and waiting for this to happen. I'm excited that it's going to happen because, myself, I work a lot with compromised people, with elderly, and disabled, and seniors.

It's very important to be watching out, not only for yourself but for others also.

Brian: Have you gotten tested periodically because of the nature of your job just because you're exposed to so many different people in the course of the day? [silence] Nancy, were you able to hear that question? Did we lose Nancy? I guess we lost Nancy. Nancy, thank you very much. Stay safe out there. Let's try Tommy in Harlem next. Tommy, you're on WNYC. Hi, there.

Tommy: Hi, Brian Lehrer. Good show. First-time caller, long time listener.

Brian: Thank you. Thank you so much. What do you drive?

Tommy: I drive a yellow cab.

Brian: What have been some of your best practices to protect yourself?

Tommy: I used to drive a Toyota Camry and I decided to switch with a Nissan NV because I felt like it was more protective because it's full-partitioned. I just switched a car. I've decided to close every single hole on the side with a little opening. I've just tried to patch them with some kind of cardboard so nothing comes in. Even where you pay through the money, I have closed all the little holes.

Brian: Oh, that's so interesting, Tommy because a few of the previous callers downplayed either the effectiveness or the desirability of having the shield all the way across between the driver and the passenger in the back. Do you get that because it seems to me intuitive that you would want that? That that would block a lot of sharing of air even if it's not 100% sealed.

Tommy: Yes, there have been so many stories with so many things we didn't know, so I just didn't want to take any chance. It's better to be safe so I have decided not to touch any luggage of any passenger. Unless it's an elderly person, then I do it, but as soon as I do it, I just use some hand sanitizer. I just try to keep my distance.

Brian: How about the heat and the air conditioning? That's one that the City's Department of Health recommends not to use it. I guess there are different kinds. Some recycle air from inside the cabin, some don't.

Tommy: The Nissan NV, it has two different units, front and the back are totally separated.

Brian: Oh.

Tommy: I'm not sure if they are connected. I try to open the window, but if it's too cold, then I close it. I try to get some air coming through anyway.

Brian: You're a good advertisement for the Nissan.

Tommy: [laughs] I don't know if they predicted that, but it looks like they made it for-- I don't want to be sarcastic. It looks like they made the Nissan for the pandemic. I'm not sure about that.

Brian: Thank you very much, Tommy. Stay safe out there. Dorothy on Long Island, you're on WNYC. Hi, Dorothy.

Dorothy: Hi, Brian Lehrer. Thank you for taking my call. I've been looking forward to talk to you for a long time-

Brian: I'm so glad you're on.

Dorothy: -especially when the Mayor is on the air.

Brian: [laughs] If you have a question for the Mayor, call back on a Friday.

Dorothy: Oh, my God.

Brian: [laughs] What do you drive?

Dorothy: Yes, I do. What do I got? I am an old tax-- 24 years in the taxi industry. Believe me, our business, our pension-- I'm 64 years old. My pension is just swept out. I've been working so hard to build my dream in this country. I am so painful right now to see everything is going away. Before, it's Uber, now, it's the pandemic. The worst part for me, my husband died from the very beginning of the pandemic. He caught the virus on March around 17 and he passed away on the 27, leave me with a son. My son quit school and that was my dream because all my debt was for my son's education. Right now, he's stopped going to school.

Brian: Oh my gosh.

Dorothy: It's very, very painful because that was the one son, one father. That was very sad for my life. Right now, I can't even work in this city because there is no money, I have a $3,000 mortgage and our business is going down completely to 90%. I know that you heard about New York Taxi Alliance. We've been fighting for the debt forgiveness. This is why every time the Mayor is on the air and I've tried to get through him to say, "Mayor de Blasio--" He spoke to me a few years ago in a Town Hall meeting--

Brian: Dorothy, I'm sorry to say that that's going to have to be the last word because we're out of time for the show. Appropriate, unfortunately, in these days that we end with Dorothy with the tragedies in her life around the pandemic even as she's describing what she does to keep herself safe as a taxi driver. Thank you, drivers, for all your calls today. Stay safe out there.

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