Abu Dhabi: Female passengers are calling for women only taxis during night.
The airport taxi service introduced exclusively for women six months ago operates from 8am to 5pm. “We need female taxi drivers at night. It is unfortunate their service is not available in the late hours,” said Rasha Abeer, a PR executive based out of Abu Dhabi.
Out of a fleet of 165 luxury taxis available round the clock from Terminal 1 and 3 at Abu Dhabi International Airport, only three are driven by female drivers.
The metre charge for the female-driven taxis are same as other airport taxis, and start at Dh20.
“I prefer taxis that are exclusively for women. I feel comfortable and safe with a female driver,” Filipino Jane Pascuel told XPRESS.
The fashion consultant at a retail mall said some male drivers are impolite. “They ask all sorts of personal questions that make you cringe,” said Pascuel, 28.
A Japanese passenger on a business visit to Abu Dhabi said she would prefer travelling in women-only taxis when she goes out at night. “I do not mind going with a male driver during day time. But it is always comfortable to have a female driver after 8pm, especially when I am not familiar with the place,” said a visitor who did not want to be named.
Female drivers, however, prefer the current timings.
One such driver told XPRESS: “I was the first to join the women-only fleet. It was easy to accept the job because there were no late shifts,” said Suchithra Sudha, 35, from India.
Sudha, who was a driver with Al Gazal Taxis for more than a year before joining the airport taxi service, said, “I think it was very kind and understanding on the part of my company to fix our timings from 8am to 5pm.”
“Most of the female passengers, especially Arabs, and some families with kids prefer us to male drivers. I have never had a bad experience with anyone in the last six months,” she said.
Sudha, who is a mother of two children, said it will be a tough call if she had to work late hours.
