During the first lockdowns, business was so slow that hackney cab driver Yucel Polat, 44, had to work in a warehouse for eight months to support his family.
Although happy to get back behind the wheel in May, he’s not looking forward to running the gamut of the Christmas party season - especially amid rising infection rates and new mask-wearing legislation.
Yucel, 44, from Chadderton, says that since the law on mask-wearing was reinstated by Boris Johnson this week, most of his passengers are complying, or need just a gentle reminder when they forget.
READ MORE: "Some people get abusive": The challenges for bus drivers as mask-wearing becomes the law again
It’s when they’ve had one too many that problems can arise
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Yucel, from Chadderton, told the Manchester Evening News : “I’m pleased the mask rule has come back because the infection rate is going up.
“I have a vulnerable relative so I don’t want to pass it on to them.
“And people are wearing masks more. If they don’t I try to ask them but it depends how drunk they are because I don’t want trouble.
“When they are drunk passengers forget about wearing a mask.
“They are too drunk to open the door, so you open it for them. Then it’s ‘you are such a nice taxi driver’.
“They cuddle you, they try and kiss you. They are too drunk, it does concern me. But what are you going to do?
“It’s not easy to get passengers to wear masks when they are drunk. The rules and regulations don’t protect you when there’s nobody around.”
Yucel, who had Covid last year, added: “If they don’t want to I’m not going to argue with them. I had a customer the other day who was spitting in my taxi. When I told them to leave they complained to the council about me.
“I worry about passing it to my wife. She has a vulnerable mother. We are testing every week.”
"I'm most worried about the impact on Manchester Airport customers."
Akil Younis, 41, from Oldham, works ferrying passengers to and from Manchester Airport - and he says he's never had to remind a customer to wear a mask.
"We get people coming in from everywhere, they come in with their masks on.
"In the black cabs we've got the visors and space at the back.
"But obviously the way the new variant works, it's really contagious, you need to take precautions. If you need to wear a mask, you should.
Akil, who says he's seen family and friends badly affected by Covid, added: "If somone gets in without one I'll tell them to put on one. The main concern is safety. We are professional drivers, we are public hire and we have a duty of care just like buses.
"My message is to keep wearing them. There's a very dangerous virus and the Government are stating you should for your own safety, for those around you, and for the driver.
"We get paid for doing a job, but our job is to make sure you get home safely and we want to get home safely to our families too."
Of greater concern to Akil right now is the new restrictions on testing and self-isolation as cases of the new variant rise.
Everyone entering the UK must now take a PCR test and all contacts of new variant cases will have to self-isolate, even if fully jabbed.
Akil added: "It's going to impact those of us who work at Manchester Airport. We rely on international tourists and I think we are going to see a reduction in passengers.
"We are worried about it. The last 18 months with lockdowns, red lists, restrictions, have been tough and I think taxi drviers were among the worst hit."
“If a customer says no to a mask, they’re not getting in.”
Fellow hackney cab driver Eldaniz Kuliyev, 53, from Hackney, says most passengers are masking up - and he’s thankful.
“Cases are going up and there’s a new variant, masks are a good thing and the law should have come back a long time ago," he says.
“I’m not surprised cases have gone up. The vaccination programme is good but you need to protect yourself against the virus too.”
Eldaniz says he’ll be strictly enforcing the mask rule - to a point.
“In town if I pick up a customer and they aren’t wearing one I’ll ask them. If they say no I’ll refuse to take them.
“If they’re drunk, already in my cab and then take their mask off you can’t do anything about them. That’s when it changes.
“Then it doesn’t matter if there’s a rule or not. You don’t want to risk an argument.
“If they get in and take it off what can you do? Nothing.”
Eldaniz says Friday and Saturday nights are likely to be the trickiest times to navigate the new rule, adding: “But most of the time most passengers don’t mind wearing a mask.”
He added: “It’s been a very bad time during the pandemic. In lockdown many people didn’t go out and we couldn’t continue our service.
“We are happy to be back on the road, I’m glad to be working.”
