For the drivers, it's a disaster.
The establishment of a curfew announced by Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday only darkened an already gloomy horizon.
Read also: The call for help from VTC drivers
This Wednesday, the President of the Republic declared that a curfew would be put in place from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. from Saturday in Paris and its inner suburbs as well as in eight other metropolises: Grenoble, Lille, Lyon , Aix-Marseille, Rouen, Toulouse, Montpellier, Saint-Etienne.
A measure with a catastrophic economic impact for many sectors such as hotels and restaurants, but not only.
Taxis and VTCs working at night are also penalized by such a decision.
Indeed, many prefer to drive in the evening and at night rather than during the day because the traffic is more fluid, less congested.
"The day you will spend 30 minutes on a night race which would have taken you 5 to 10 minutes, for the same price"
, explains Ben Ali Brahim, secretary general of the national intersyndicale VTC (INV).
Working during the day can therefore represent a loss of earnings.
Especially since the number of available drivers is likely to increase, those who can no longer work at night turning to daytime schedules.
“There will be too many drivers for not enough customers,”
confirms Ben Ali Brahim.
Since the confinement, the activity of taxis and VTC has dropped drastically and is struggling to recover.
“The situation is catastrophic.
According to a survey of nearly 4,000 of our members, 96% said they had encountered difficulties.
Since March, there has been between 70 and 90% loss in turnover
, "explains Ben Ali Brahim, who adds:"
T oday, for a 15-hour day, a driver makes between 40 and 60 euros. turnover against 200 to 250 euros before the health crisis ”
"We always run empty"
Sayah Baaroun abounds:
“We are already on our knees
”.
For the secretary general of the SCP-VTC the announcement of this Wednesday evening drowns any hope of a restart of activity at half mast for eight months.
"During confinement, only 5 to 10% of the profession worked and since the deconfinement, we are still running on empty," he
regrets.
According to him, the weak recovery in activity observed so far has in fact not allowed the sector to get its head out of the water.
“A driver who generates between 6,000 and 8,000 euros per month in turnover has between 3,500 and 4,500 euros in fixed charges.
You have to pay for the car, insurance, health insurance and social charges.
And the drivers' wages are often lower than the minimum wage, ”he
explains, asking that the sector benefit from an exemption from these charges rather than a deferral as is currently the case.
Ben Ali Brahim, however, wants to remain optimistic after a meeting with the chief of staff of the minister responsible for SMEs, Alain Griset, on Wednesday.
According to the secretary general of the INV, the VTC sector could obtain to appear on the S1 list whose registrants, in particular hotels, restaurants, cafes or even events and tourism, benefit from
" reinforced by the state ”
, according to the government.
Currently, VTC and taxi are on another list, the S1 bis list, which implies having
"suffered 80% loss of turnover"
"to benefit from the reinforced measures"
.
"It is the beginning of victory"
, rejoices the trade unionist.
