A Vancouver Island company has stepped up amid the COVID-19 pandemic to help health care workers by offering free rides to and from hospitals.
Current Taxi has said that all health care workers at Victoria General Hospital and Royal Jubilee Hospital who have valid Island Health identification cards will receive free rides from cars in their fleet.
Owner Kate Wilson said this was a great way they could support their local community, and reached out to both Island Health and Interior Health authorities to see how they could help.
“They both responded with a need for their health care workers to be transported to and from their hospitals,” said Wilson.
“We thought we might be delivering things for them, but this is how they responded.”
Current Taxi operates a Tesla-only fleet, which allows the company to offer a completely touchless experience for passengers.
“We have an app where the ride is booked online, the cars open automatically, the only thing a customer is required to touch is their seatbelt which is sanitized before and after every ride,” Wilson said.
“It takes one thing out of their day that they don’t have to worry about anymore when we know they have a lot of stress already on their plate.”
If a health care worker is looking to book through their website, they can add a note into their online booking to identify as an Island Health employee – and must show their badge once they are picked up.
The taxi company started offering free rides on April 1st, and hopes to continue for the next few weeks to support health care workers during the ongoing pandemic.
