Taxi, Uber and bus drivers face vaccination mandate, as minor glitches reported as border reopened
Taxi drivers are frustrated at the short notice given for a jab mandate, as the state’s top cop says more industries are likely to adopt vaccination policies.
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Most airport workers, taxi drivers and public transport workers will be required to have their first Covid dose under new late-night directions introduced by Police Commissioner Grant Stevens.
And he’s warned more jab mandates are likely – but stopped short of detailing the industries they are likely to affect.
The new rules for drivers and public transport workers were published on Monday night and require workers to have one jab and their second booked at varied times before Christmas.
‘Point-to-point drivers’ including drivers of taxis, rideshare or chauffeured vehicles will be affected first, and must have their first Covid vaccination by November 25 under the new directions due to potential exposure to the virus.
Mr Stevens said the decision was made to protect the operators of those vehicles, as well as patrons.
“We are aware they’ll be collecting international arrivals and taking them to their place of quarantine and also they’ll be collecting vulnerable people who rely heavily on that service to take them to doctors’ appointments and other services,” he said.
The announcement has infuriated the taxi industry, who say drivers were not given enough notice to have their first jab.
“It’s very short notice, and something like this should’ve been in the pipeline and discussed months ago, knowing at some stage the borders were going to be open,” SA Taxi Council president John Trainer said.
Despite Mr Stevens stating police had been in consultation with industry stakeholders, Mr Trainer said the council first heard about the possibility of a mandate in an email from SA Health on Monday.
“We’re disappointed with the short notice, we’re disappointed with the lack of consultation over the last year-and-a-half and we’re most disappointed that there doesn’t seem any method of compensating drivers who provide this essential service and then through no fault of their own are ripped out of their livelihood.,” Mr Trainer said.
He agreed taxi drivers needed to be vaccinated but needed more warning.
He also urged the state government to consider compensating taxi drivers who will be required to quarantine after being in close contact with positive cases.
Any passenger transport driver (other than a point-to-point driver), which is understood to include bus and train drivers, must have at least one vaccination by December 12, 2021.
A person who comes into contact with a passenger transport service, including conductors, compliance officers, security guards, and booking and ticketing workers must have at least one vaccination by December 20.
Rail, Train and Bus Union branch secretary SA/NT Darren Phillips said the union did not support mandatory vaccinations.
He will pen a letter to Mr Stevens in coming days asking questions about the mandate.
“I’ll just be asking the simple question, what is the medical rationale behind these new directions?” Mr Phillips said.
The Transport Workers’ Union SA has demanded an urgent meeting with the government following the announcement of the direction.
“The TWU has written to the state government expressing its extreme disappointment that key industry stakeholders were not consulted before the direction was announced,” Branch Secretary Ian Smith said.
A spokeswoman for Uber said the company’s priority was to keep those who use the platform safe, and it would follow the government guidelines.
Mr Stevens said more vaccine mandates were likely for other industries, but would be subject to SA Health advice.
“There may be some being referred to me in the near future but I can’t comment on that at the moment,” he said.
New directions which require police officers to be fully vaccinated came into effect last week.
About 180 SA Police staff are not yet vaccinated, including 150 officers.
Mr Stevens said it was still too early to tell how many of those people were maintaining a stance against vaccination, seeking advice and deciding whether to get the jab, or on leave from the workforce.
He said they were not clustered in their roles, so SA Police were not concerned about operational problems.
Mr Stevens announced no further changes to restrictions as the state opened its borders with NSW and Victoria at midnight on Monday.
“We are looking at potentially what happens when we get to 90 per cent but that’s very early discussions at this point,” he said.
About 150 people were waiting at the state’s borders at midnight, Mr Stevens said, with nobody turned around.
“We’re anticipating we’ll get a lot of people coming in today.”
Minor glitches reported as borders reopen
Frustration threatened to cloud the expected elation of the state’s first entrants on Tuesday at midnight, after the EntryCheck SA border crossing system continued to be problematic.
Blinky-eyed fully vaccinated travellers entered South Australia from Victoria at the Yamba border checkpoint on the Sturt Highway as soon as the clock struck 12.01am on Tuesday morning.
Between midnight and 12.30am, only about 10 cars made their way through the checkpoint, with about five stopping to await further clearance from EntryCheck SA.
SA entrants were told they should expect a green tick on their emails confirming their acceptance to the state, although many had acceptance emails without the tick.
Returning resident Kerry Henstridge, 66, of Barmera, was on the verge of tears as the system crashed and refused to give her the final green tick, at the very last hurdle.
She had travelled to Bendigo for her brother’s funeral on August 28, and missed the birth of her grandson due to border closures and extended lockdowns in Victoria.
“I think personally they’ve done it wrong,” she said.
“They should’ve let returning residents in first, give it a month, and let the tourists in.”
As well as the Sturt Highway at Yamba, keen motorists entered SA from several other Victoria/SA border checkpoints, including Wolseley, Laurie Park, Penola, Myora, Glenburnie and Donovans/Nelson.
Less than 24 hours from opening on Tuesday, state government data showed that more than 32,000 fully vaccinated travellers from NSW, Victoria and the ACT had applied through the EntryCheck SA website to enter the state.
Premier Steven Marshall apologised for a technical blunder on the site that saw many people experience troubles while attempting to get their affairs in order prior to midnight.
A message on the website said it was “temporarily unavailable – please check back later”.
The website was temporarily operational prior to midnight on Tuesday, before crashing as hundreds attempted to enter SA after 12.01am.
A similar problem emerged shortly after the website launched on Friday afternoon. Officials say “a third party vendor crashed at 11.15am before being restored at 12.04pm.”
Unvaccinated people will need an exemption from SA Health to enter SA.
MORE: The new rules to enter SA
‘We’re ready for the reopening’
Despite community fears about an expected surge of cases, an 11th-hour border permit system technical glitch and falling just short of an 80 per cent jab goal, authorities say we’re ready for any outbreak.
Business and tourism leaders hope for a bumper Christmas celebration as SA’s two biggest interstate markets, NSW and Victoria, reopen with an anticipated influx of visitors.
Ahead of borders opening, Premier Steven Marshall said the “strong pandemic response had allowed us to safely transition into the next phase”.
“Thousands of South Australians will soon by reunited with their family and friends,” he said on Monday. “Our fantastic businesses will now start to see an increased vibrancy within the tourism economy and this will protect local jobs.
“I’m excited and proud of the hard work of each and every South Australian to get us to this milestone.”
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens closed NSW borders on June 23, before imposing quarantine rules on Victorian travellers 24 days later. Only essential workers and those with exemptions could cross.
A surge of almost 13,250 people applying in 24 hours to travel into SA caused the permit system to crash on Monday. There was also border confusion as some travellers tried to cross early.
Mr Marshall was forced to apologise for the embarrassing EntryCheck SA glitch. The permit system has been successfully used by 32,000 people since 5pm on Friday.
Department of Premier and Cabinet figures show 657 unvaccinated applicants need an exemption.
The government last week scrambled to fix a vaccination data error that would have prevented scores of people returning home from central Sydney or Melbourne’s CBD.
Travellers from all NSW, Victoria and ACT council areas can now enter without isolating after Byron Bay became the last local government zone to hit the 80 per cent target.
A series of quarantine and testing rules were released last week.
Authorities have, however, raised concerns about low jab rates across the northern suburbs, Murraylands and Mid-North. At least 103,000 people are unvaccinated in the 10 worst areas. Mr Stevens, who late on Monday authorised new border rules as state Covid-19 co-ordinator, hailed the reopening as “excellent news”.
“There will be a lot of families who are going to be able to come together,” he said.
“A lot of people who need to travel for business will be able to do so freely, and that’s a very good news story.”
SA Tourism Commission chief executive Rodney Harrex said it would boost the multibillion-dollar sector.
“As the first Covid-free state to open to … our state’s two largest domestic markets, this is a huge opportunity,” he said.
At Chateau Yaldara in the Barossa Valley, wine room ambassador Alex Trevena was ready to welcome guests.
“Things have been a little quiet so we are certainly looking forward to having people back,” she said. SA independent Retailers chief executive Colin Shearing reported a weekend surge of customers “stocking up” on staple goods.
Announcing the EntryCheck app on Friday, officials said it must be used by people entering South Australia from any state or country.
People using the new app will first need to have a mySA GOV account, or create one. Then they fill out the online form asking for personal details, Medicare number and where the person has spent the majority of time over the past 14 days or if they have been overseas recently.
When the form is completed the applicant will get an email advising of any restrictions required and if they need the new HealthCheck SA app used to check for symptoms, monitoring and information on tests required and quarantine as well as results of tests.
A VaxCheck app, which shows a person’s vaccination status, has also been developed, and is set to be live before borders open on Tuesday.
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