KNV chairman Bertho Eckhardt is rightly angry. Last Friday, the Minister of Nieuwenhuizen advised travelers to only take a taxi if it is absolutely necessary. And to make matters worse, entrepreneurs in taxi and coach transport are not yet eligible for the TOGS scheme. 

This scheme (a contribution of 4.000 euros net for fixed costs) was introduced by the cabinet last week. The NOW scheme was introduced for personnel costs. After criticism from retail entrepreneurs, the cabinet has slightly expanded the TOGS scheme, but passenger transport companies are still left empty-handed. State Secretary Mona Keijzer replied to questions about taxi transport, which were included in the TV program WNL on Sunday, "We are looking at that."

"Incomprehensible," said KNV chairman Bertho Eckhardt. 'Last Friday, Minister of Nieuwenhuizen advised travelers to only take a taxi if there is an absolute necessity to do so. Think of basic necessity, medical necessity or because of a vital profession. That is close to a ban and in any case leads to taxi companies in the consumer market having to deal with a loss of turnover of up to 100%. ”

Private bus transport (hereinafter: coach transport) has the same situation. Due to the measures taken by the cabinet, the entrepreneurs in this sector, including many smaller family businesses, have a loss of turnover of 100%. The companies have been hit hard by stopping travel, closing all theme parks and closing schools.

“Tourist transport disappeared, but also other pillars within the sector, such as support for public transport, international scheduled services and transport for sports clubs. Transport that continues, such as employee transport for large companies, has considerably higher costs due to the use of more vehicles to be able to comply with hygiene rules, ”says Eckhardt.

For the coach companies it is extra sour because the season traditionally starts at the end of March. In those first months, the companies also convert most of the seasonal turnover. The turnover that is now being missed and is no longer being overtaken, immediately causes serious problems for companies KNV. This is problematic because large parts of society use coach transport, even outside the holidays. It is extra bitter that travel agents are eligible.

“The coach companies often do the same work as travel agents, but have a different SBI code because they do not do tourist transport either. Working with SBI codes is far too rigid here. Not opening this emergency counter to taxi and coach companies is a slap in the face of all those entrepreneurs and drivers. There is also an acute need for support for them ”, says Eckhardt. 

Also read: It is not obvious to deviate from the taxi regulations per municipality