The chief executive of A2B Ltd, which operates Australia’s biggest taxi network under the 13cabs brand, says more than 3000 drivers who were “comfortable on the couch” for much of last year will bring their cabs back on the road as JobKeeper ends.

Andrew Skelton said many taxi drivers made the practical decision to keep their vehicles garaged for months as international travel bans and state border shutdowns decimated a core part of their business in pick-ups from airports and hotels in the travel and tourism sector.