A Taipei tour guide, whose livelihood has been hit hard by the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, says the epidemic has forced him to return to his previous line of trade: driving a cab.
Mr. Wang is a taxi driver, again. Before becoming a certified tour guide and tour group leader a year ago, Wang had been driving taxi for 20 years.
Wang has a license for both jobs, but they have little use, at least for now. At a press conference, the 53-year-old man says because of the outbreak, Chinese tourists have been barred from visiting Taiwan and tours have been cancelled.
Facing these circumstances, Wang started driving a cab again, but it hasn’t been easy. Wang says he manages to break even every month, after petrol and maintenance costs. He used to make between US$100 and US$130 per day, but now he takes in no more than US$100 because fewer people are taking taxis.
An online job bank manager says the outbreak has also caused employers to postpone recruitment and employees from changing jobs at this time.