FEMALES IN THE FLEET FROM ‘BACK OFFICE ROLE’ TO DIRECTOR
OF AWARD WINNING HALIFAX PRIVATE HIRE FIRM
Returning to our articles about women in the industry after a long summer break, it was great to be contacted by Rukhsana Siddique, of Crossleys Cars in Halifax, to
share with us her experiences within the trade.
Rukhsana reached out in response to the Females in the Fleets posts to wholly support the drive to encourage more female drivers to sign up, but also to show her appreciation for an iniatiative which she felt had encouraged her.
Rukhsana ended up running Crossleys out of tragedy, necessity and great sadness. She was forced to take the reins and harness all her skills. Rukhsana felt she had more challenges than others to face and is proud of the progress she made and is living proof that there is support for women in the industry and any bias is on the outside not within.
She has chosen to tell us about her background in her own words.
PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF:
My name is Rukhsana Siddique and I am 43 years old. I am the mother of three boys aged 18, 14 and 7. Prior to the taxi trade I worked in acquisition of insurance companies for Swinton from 2002 to 2015. I was made redundant in the June 2015 when I was also due to have my third son in the September.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE TAXI TRADE?
When I was made redundant in 2015 my brother Jak, who was the licence holder at Crossleys at the time, asked me to come and work for him. He said that I could choose my hours, work around my middle son’s football and also work from home. He was looking for someone at the time to look after the paperwork, the office and generally the back office work that no one really sees.
This ‘back office’ role suited me down to the ground because I could hide as I didn’t feel comfortable working ‘out the front’ with a group of males who
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had been in this trade probably longer than I had been alive. I was still learning how my brother worked, and trying to separate my work and personal life with him. He was now my boss as well as my elder brother. I have since taken over the running of the business.
WHERE ARE YOU LOCATED AND WHAT IS THE SIZE OF YOUR FLEET?
The size of the fleet is 160 drivers of which we have two females who are amazing and fit in so well. We are based in Halifax and have the largest fleet in Calderdale. In line with national statistics this correlates to 1.25% of the fleet being female, just under the national average of 2%. -There is much work to be done and this is why I reached out to Females in the Fleet to support the iniative and tell my story to be able to encourage any who are hesitant to get in touch and join!
WHAT ROLES HAVE YOU TAKEN?
So, from working in the back office, suddenly in 2020 I was thrust into the limelight and became the Director of and the face and name of Crossleys. I have now taken over the running of the office, recruitment of drivers, training of staff and day to day business operations. I don’t have enough time to answer calls and despatch as well as the see to the management side and I have to say that I admire the call centre staff and controllers – it is not an easy job and takes a lot of patience and skill. These people are actually ‘unsung heroes’.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE?
My biggest challenge to date has been becoming the licence holder and Director at Crossleys. I lost my brother suddenly in April 2020 during the first pandemic lockdown. My world changed from the moment I got the phone call. The sudden focus was how is this business going to continue? How are we going to survive the pandemic and the loss of my brother, who was a massive name within the community and the taxi industry?
NOVEMBER 2022 PHTM
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