People Share How Taxis And Uber 'Upgraded' Themselves For The Pandemic And It's Genius (17 Pics)

A taxi ride is the holy grail of modern city life. And if it’s the end of the world as we know it, I might as well spend my commute entrusted to a driver who does everything to make sure it goes smoothly.

And it turns out, there are a whole bunch of things taxi drivers do to their ride during a pandemic. From making sure the passenger gets a fresh airflow of AC in the back to adding a makeshift partition out of plastic, people are tweeting some of the most ingenious inventions they’ve spotted on their taxi rides.

And the more people shared their taxis with a pandemic-proof twist on this Twitter thread, the more it became apparent that (great?) minds think alike.

Before the pandemic was anywhere on the horizon, you couldn’t get a cab in New York City during rush hour or a rainy day.

But with the coronavirus crisis in full swing, it’s now estimated that 90% of taxi business has dried up. Meanwhile, many Uber drivers have seen their income arrive at a screeching halt.

Richwine, a 67-year old driver from Columbus, Ohio, told CNBC that he used to make $600 a week driving Uber and Lyft prior to the pandemic. Now he’s making $0. “Financially, I am sort of in shock. We already are in recession mode.”

Yet, many drivers are not ready to lose hope and keep on taking rides with safety measures equipped on board.

Uber and Lyft have issued official Covid-19 safety requirements for both drivers and riders. For example, as reported in May, Uber was requiring all drivers to take a picture with their mask on before they could pick up a passenger.

But as the stay-at-home orders have been lifted recently, the ride-sharing services are starting to surge again. Since the pandemic situation is changing every day, the near future for taxi and rideshare service workers is unclear.