A story about vehicles and masks December 22, 19:54

If you do not wear a mask "for no reason" in a taxi, you may be refused use.

The movement to change the rules when using such taxis has spread nationwide over the past month or so.

To tell the truth, this rule change, whether to force the wear of a mask or to appeal to morals, was born by making a last-minute adjustment.

It's a story about vehicles and masks.

(Social Affairs Department reporter, Sayaka Yamada)

Airplane and mask

Regarding vehicles and masks, many people remember the trouble that a man who was asked to wear a mask by a flight attendant on an airplane in September kept refusing without telling the reason. think.

At this time, the captain made a temporary landing at Niigata Airport on the way from Kushiro Airport in Hokkaido to Kansai Airport, saying that the man obstructed his work by grabbing the arms of the flight attendants and hindered safe flight. Then I took down this man.

Trouble of taxi company

There was a person who was chilled by this news.

I am Kazutaka Tomita, president of Hinomaru Kotsu, a taxi company located in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo.

Even a taxi that

"finally got into trouble" was having a

hard time dealing with users who did not wear masks for no reason.

Tomita says he was convinced that the actions they took about a week ago were correct.

Actions taken by Mr. Tomita

The action was that a taxi driver, along with a fellow business operator, applied to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to approve a new rule that could refuse users who are not wearing masks.

As a public transportation system, taxis are basically not allowed to be denied boarding by law.

In the industry, some people have shown a cautious attitude that it should be dealt with as a request to users, and that it may be overkill, or that users may move away from taxis.

However, there were unavoidable circumstances.

Industry guidelines and driver anxiety

The time goes back to June, the month after the state of emergency was lifted.

The taxi industry group has compiled the "Guidelines for Preventing New Coronavirus Infections", in which users are

▽

asked for their understanding and cooperation to get in the back seats as much as possible,

▽ understanding about wearing masks. It was written that we would ask for cooperation.

At Tomita's company as well, we made sure that drivers were served according to the guidelines.

In the summer when the number of customers began to return little by little, drivers complained of anxiety one after another.

It is said that he is having a hard time dealing with people who are drunk and do not wear masks at midnight when they earn money.

Of course, there is a splash-proof partition between the back seat and the driver's seat.

However, if you use it in a group, you will also get in the passenger seat.

Especially for groups who are drunk and have loud conversations with their peers, it is difficult to "seek understanding and cooperation about wearing masks" in the guidelines.

The drivers complained to Mr. Tomita, "I'm worried that I might get infected and pass on to my family, or I might not be able to work." "I'd like to ask you to wear it, but I'm afraid of trouble."

Certainly, I can understand the fear and hesitation of not knowing what will happen if I call for cooperation from a user who is drunk and uplifted.

"Understanding and cooperation" is the limit

Drivers have begun to urge the company to require passengers to wear masks as well.

If nothing is done, not only will they carry the risk of infection, but they may also spread the risk of infection to the next passenger.

Mr. Tomita conducted hearings by taking taxis from multiple companies other than his own company, and confirmed that he was also afraid of trouble and could not ask for cooperation in wearing masks.

Mr. Tomita felt that he had to do something about it.

However, making it mandatory to wear a mask is not an easy task.

I consulted with other businesses, but I couldn't come up with a good idea, and even if I appealed to the users to wear masks at a meeting where the businesses gathered, I couldn't get an understanding.

I didn't get a positive response when I asked the government to make it mandatory to wear a mask by public transport.

advice

The advice from a certain person was a big turning point when Mr. Tomita thought that he was blocked in all directions.

If it was difficult to appeal to the industry, I thought that we should change our own rules.

For Mr. Tomita, it was an eye-opening idea.

Taxi operators have established rules for use called contracts of carriage for each operator and are approved by the government.

I don't know if we can get the approval, but we can do it ourselves.

Normally, taxi operators rarely change the rules once they have set them, but I decided to give it a try.

What is a rule change?

The rule is that passengers can refuse to use the mask if they do not wear it for no reason.

We confirmed that some people with respiratory illnesses and disabilities could not wear masks, and applied for approval from the government with that in mind.

The rule of just allowing people to refuse to board as public transport may not be approved by the state.

With national approval

The national examination took about two months, which is twice as long as usual, but it was approved successfully.

According to an interview with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, it was clearly stated that people who have a valid reason for not being able to wear a mask are not subject to refusal, not just the driver, but also the next passenger. It was evaluated that it would prevent the infection of.

This is a rule for each taxi operator and does not apply to all taxi operators.

Nevertheless, Mr. Tomita says that the request for wearing a mask has been approved by the government, that is, the approval of the government has made it possible for drivers to take a more resolute attitude than ever before.

Spread all over the country

The actions that Mr. Tomita took with his fellow businesses have spread rapidly throughout the country in the past month or so.

Taxi operators nationwide such as Osaka, Nagoya, and Sapporo have applied for changes one after another, and according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, as of 11th this month, 211 taxi operators nationwide and 3799 individual taxi applications have been approved. ..

At the time of approval, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism will take measures such as carefully asking the business operator why they are not wearing it and providing it in the car to passengers who have forgotten their masks, so that passengers will be disadvantaged as much as possible. I'm asking you not to wear it.

Tomita's company is now

The taxi company's rule changes and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's request for approval are not compulsory masks, but efforts to reduce the risk of infection.

Mr. Imamita's company is instructing drivers to remember that the rules are the backing to ask them to wear masks.

There is a desire to leave it to morals.

As the infection continues to spread nationwide between coercion and morals, when you get on the train in Tokyo, you rarely see people without masks in the morning.

But at night, you may see people without masks.

I think there are people who are talking cheerfully, people with red faces who are shaking with straps, and people who are not interested in their appearance.

What we could see from the interviews with vehicles and masks was whether our society would be more coercive and survive the corona wreck, or whether we would survive with the imagination and morals of caring for others. ..

Various things are happening every day in response to the new coronavirus, but I would like to thoroughly interview and think about what can be seen through it.

Sayaka Yamada,

Reporter, Social Affairs Department