'Cabbie' thrives in man's world

Chad Bryan, Gleaner Writer

It is commonplace to see male taxi operators bobbing and weaving through the streets of the Corporate Area, snatching the tiniest gaps in traffic - or making them - as they try to turn a profit by the end of the day.

However, the few female taxi drivers
have to put in extra work in order to survive in a harsh and
overwhelmingly macho environment.

For once a vehicle
is full, sometimes with four persons in the back and two along with the
driver in the front, depending on the route, the men take off, often
swinging in and out of traffic and stopping arbitrarily to pick up and
let off passengers, angering regular motorists in the
process.

A female taxi operator, who prefers to be
simply called 'Cabbie', begins her route-taxi run as early as 5 a.m.,
operating on the Whitehall Avenue to Half-Way Tree route. After the
morning rush is over she switches over to being a chartered taxi within
the Corporate Area, going outside the city if the price is
right.

Safe in Whitehall

Cabbie
maintains that she chose the Whitehall to Half-Way Tree route because of
its safety for her. "I am a Whitehall person. This is where I born and
grow. I stick to Whitehall because if you go to 'Price Rite' (Chancery
Street) that is where the extortionists are," she
said.

However, running the route can be a little
problematic, especially when the police or Transport Authority are out.
Still, she said, "Most of my experiences with the police are that from
they are working I just stop and give them them space. You see like if
they come out wicked, wicked like with the Transport Authority, I will
stop and run as chartered."

As a woman, the job is
fraught with pressure.

"This is challenging,
especially because I am a woman and they would say I'm taking over the
man's work, but it pays my bills. Male taxi drivers are more aggressive
to you. They will bad drive you and they will run you away," Cabbie
said. However, she explained that being a woman also has its advantages,
as parents will want her to transport their
children.

A male route taxi operator told
Automotives that some of the female drivers he knows
operate like men. "They move just like the man. Also, whenever the
police stop them they are likely to get away, but otherwise they operate
just like the men. The woman can also be unruly, because they stop in
the road and let off passengers," he said.

Cabbie has
been operating a chartered service through a reputable taxi company for
nine years and running a route taxi for three. While the route-taxi
operation is quick money, she said the chartered service is more
profitable.