More women to become taxi drivers in male dominated city
11/02/2008

A new push for more women to become taxi drivers has begun in the Indian city of Bangalore. Traditionally the preserve of the city's fellas women are now being encouraged to take up driving taxis.

The taxi company behind the move believes that the city's commuters will welcome women drivers because they are more disciplined and more polite. There are also an increasing number of women executives working in the city who may prefer to be chauffeured around by another female rather than a male.

The new women drivers will be paid the equivalent rates as their male counterparts but will initially only be expected to cover morning shifts over fears for their safety during night time hours. Their cars will also be fitted with GPS systems so their positions can be pin-pointed at any time and monitored by the control room staff.

All the women have been given a training programme which has been funded using a financial aid package from the International Labour Organisation. Some of the trainees have also undergone advanced training from taxi companies which have gone on to employ them as drivers.

A spokesperson for women's car insurance provider Covergirl car insurance said, "We see hardly any women in London looking for car insurance for private hire use, but perhaps the trend might catch on over here. I'm sure that the insurance companies would welcome more women drivers being insured to drive taxis - women are careful and safe drivers - we'd like to see more in our towns, cities and at airports."