FEMALES IN THE FLEET
Article by Rachel Dale Head of Operations AAA Taxis, Herts
As the year draws to a close it has been an exciting journey for me from starting my first article in January which raised the question; why so few women in the taxi industry? to the inception of the Females in the Fleet initiative, which we want to update you about in this last PHTM article of 2022. I have been introduced to women up and down the country who are currently running taxi companies, working in admin, despatch and on the road as drivers. It has been so inspiring to read their stories! The support from the industry has been overwhelming, all are united in increasing driver numbers and exploring an under-represented demo- graphic to assist in addressing this challenge.
What has grown from this initial question and investigation is now a collaboration throughout the country. Females in the Fleet launched a charter in March 2022 which was overwhelmingly supported and adopted by many (details of the charter, supporters, sponsors and operators who are signed up to work with us can be seen on the website:
www.femalesinthefleet.com.
The gist of the charter was to encourage people OUTSIDE the industry to consider the trade as a viable place for women to work, to be reassured that industry stakeholders acknowledged issues they may face within the industry and work to ensure any roadblocks were removed. It became abundantly clear that there was no bias within the industry – drivers from all demographics were welcome and appreciated. The need to get the message outside was pressing as supply and demand identified a deficit in supply.
WHAT IS FEMALES IN THE FLEET?
Starting as an initiative to raise awareness Females in the Fleet is now an association of collaborators all working with one goal in mind, to help each other recruit more females as drivers and provide them mentoring and support, initially within the first year and ongoing as required. AAA Hertfordshire has set up an association to provide support to new and current drivers which will launch in time for 2023. Various membership options will be open to
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supporters, sponsors and operators with the goal of providing support to drivers, new and current who will have access to a range of benefits, mentoring and support.
The initiative has grown into much more. Four Ambassadors from AAA Hertfordshire and the Take Me Group, with over 64 years of experience, are leading the way. As larger operators, AAA and the Take Me Group currently run training schools and academies and wanted to share their resources and knowledge. We meet by zoom, in person and share progress over WhatsApp. We want more ambassadors for 2023.
If you are interested in joining up please contact us at:
fitf@aaataxis.com.
We have sponsorship money to help females anywhere in the country pay for their licensing, badging, medicals, DBS checks and for ongoing support. Currently we are delighted to have money pledged by Autocab, Cordic and iCabbi, as well as Patons and Eazitax. This money is ringfenced to assist drivers who apply and are placed with an approved operator which is linked to one of the foregoing despatch companies supporting the charter. This is great for the smaller operator without the resources the bigger operators have. We will be matching female drivers and sponsors in 2023 and will update you on their progress.
If you are an operator wanting to work with our initiative, please get in touch via the website or email:
fitf@aaataxis.com.
OUR AMBASSADORS Rachel Dale - Founder Head of Operations, AAA
Rachel started raising awareness of the lack
of
females in the industry in an article she wrote for the PHTM where she questioned why so few women consider the trade as a viable option. National statistics confirmed the sector was underrepresented. Post covid less than 3% of taxi and private hire drivers are female yet more women take taxi journeys than men.
DECEMBER 2022 PHTM
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