Sade Agboola of Nigerian has set up taxi company in London where all the drivers will be women.
The mum-of-one will be running Annisa Cars from October and hopes that the unique selling point will make female passengers feel safer.
Women and children are the only passengers her all-female team of drivers will carry.
Ms. Agboola, 35, came up with the idea after hearing about “friends who are mums and feel uncomfortable using public transport or private hire firms” for themselves or their children.
With Uber in a licence renewal battle with Transport for London, she believes this is the perfect time to set up a taxi company which will make the safety of female passengers its top priority.
“Safety is still a big issue. I don’t feel it has been highlighted as much as much as it should when an offence happens [involving a taxi driver].
“It’s not taken seriously enough, women or children should never have to feel unsafe or uncomfortable because of a driver. It happens an awful lot but you never read about it unless you really look and it makes me think it’s being brushed under the carpet,” she said.
Agboola also feels many parents will prefer the option of her company than public transport for their kids and that the firm will allow some mums to get back to work
“I know so many friends who are single mums that work full-time across London and don’t feel it is safe for their children to be going to and from school without a guardian in a taxi or on a bus. It may mean they have to cut working hours or get a different job as there is no alternative,” she added.
Annisa Cars will cater for bookings in Croydon, Sutton, Brixton and Streatham with the intention of covering the whole of south London by the end of next year.
Apart from the transportation firm, Agboola also runs a part-time charity that helps women with health issues at Croydon University Hospital.
She said of her new venture: “I have been amazed that no one else has thought of this idea before. Also, a lot of mums have children and struggle to get back to work or find a job that gives them that flexibility and hopefully by having women-only drivers and guardians we can provide a flexible and supportive environment for them.
“Whether people choose to work with us full or part-time is up to them but we will be offering holiday pay for people working on a freelance basis so they know we support them.”
For those still wondering why she said: “Some women just don’t feel safe being driven be a man.”
