Cars splashed in pink and driven by women are set to drive into Kozhikode. The signature She-taxis, which first rolled out in Thiruvananthapuram, will be in Kozhikode by mid-November.
“She-taxis in Thiruvananthapuram will turn one on November 19 and the tentative plan is to launch the taxis in Kozhikode on that day,” says Neethu T.D., project co-ordinator, She-taxis.
She-taxis come with an action plan. They are designed to be a swift intervention for women’s safety. Largely a by-women, for-women concept, male travellers can journey in them only if there is a woman passenger.
She-taxi prioritises safety of the driver and the passenger. All She-taxis, a joint endeavour of Gender Park and Kerala Women’s Development Corporation, are equipped with a Global Positioning System always monitored by a private control room, emergency alarms for the driver and the passenger and even a handy pepper spray for the driver. “They are also given a week’s induction training with classes in self-defence and spoken English,” says Neethu. On the anvil are more — yoga classes and another on road rules and trauma care. Neethu says at Thiruvananthapuram, the women drivers have requested more spoken English classes. “Only a handful of women drivers are graduates. The rest have finished their Plus 2 and in some cases class 10. Now that they have been on the road for a while, they are more confident, take on long trips and interact with tourists. More spoken English, they believe, will work in their favour,” she says.
In the past one year, about 30 She-taxis have got on road. About 20 of them are in Thiruvananthapuram and eight in Kochi. Neethu says 13 new drivers and their vehicles are being processed.
About Kozhikode, Neethu says, “We have five registered drivers from Kozhikode now and there are enquiries.” Neethu, however, says the response from Kozhikode pales in comparison to Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi. She hopes it will look up once the first batch begins service. “So far, in Kozhikode, four women have got their loans and have their vehicles booked. Orders have been placed for two Maruti Ertiga and two Maruti Swift Dzire. The loan process for the fifth person is underway,” says Neethu. The drivers get loans for their vehicles at eight per cent interest from KWDC if they have five cents of land and documents to show for it. If not, the women are assisted in getting loans from nationalised banks by She-taxi. The women have to pay 10 per cent of the car price.
Pitching in Ancy Anthony, one of the first drivers to register in Kozhikode, has booked her Ertiga. “It will cost me about 9.5 lakhs on the road. I have taken the loan from KWDC where the interest is less,” she says. Ancy worked as a pharmacist, but stopped working after her wedding. Ill-health of her husbandprodded her to think of a career. “I wanted to pitch in financially for the family,” says Ancy and turned to a skill she acquired some years ago. “I got my driving licence in 2006 and now I enjoy driving. Whenever we drove to my hometown Kottayam or to Mangalore, I pitched in with the driving. That gave me the confidence to apply for the She-taxi project,” she says.
The security systems in the car are a big solace and confidence booster to the women drivers. “I feel good that there are systems in place. Slowly, I plan to take up long trips,” Ancy says.
Suma is a She-taxi driver in Thiruvananthapuram for the past seven months. “I have gone on long trips to Guruvayur, Kanyakumari and other places,” she says. Though each car has a station point, Suma says, they hardly get the time to stay put.
Suma’s support is her family, her lawyer husband and two grown-up children. “Recently, I took up the cab service for Techno Park which is from 10.30 p.m. to 12.30 a.m. when I ferry women employees. Their feedback has been phenomenal. They tell me when on occasions they are the only ones in the car late in the night, not only are they tense, so are their parents. Now, they say, they are relieved and can even afford to doze off.”
Suma admits initially she found the schedule a tad tiring, especially late into the night. “But in a couple of days I got used to it.” Now she has regular passengers who call her. “I immediately inform the control room and pick up the passengers. We have to inform the control room about every trip, even if it is personal. Every trip is registered and tracked,” says Suma.
Looking back , Suma says she is satisfied. “People have been encouraging. Passengers, including men, have often told me that safe driving and the care we show are our big plus,” she adds.
In the past few months, Suma has on an average earned a little more than Rs. 50,000 a month. “There are days when I have driven only 20 kms and there are days when I record 250 kms.” From her income, Rs. 15,000 goes towards the loan, close to Rs. 10,000 on fuel and 13 per cent commission to the control room run by Rain Concert Technologies, a firm at Techno Park that does monitoring and is the first stop for all emergencies.
The administrators are enthused by the reception to She-taxis. “In Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, it has become a brand where people recognise it instantly. We slowly want to spread it across Kerala and reach the target of 100 She-taxis.”
