Taxi depots will be allowed to run 'essential service' Peter Pan Taxis was one of the deports ordered to close down. 29 December, 2020 01:00 TAXI depots will be permitted to run an 'essential service' only, police have said after originally claiming private hire companies would be fined if caught in breach of the Covid curfew. On Sunday evening, the PSNI closed down at least three taxi depots in the greater Belfast area. In the most heavily enforced lockdown to date in Northern Ireland, officers told several depots they were no longer considered an essential service and must close between 8pm and 6am.