A pink private-hire service that focuses on making vulnerable passengers feel safe is expanding after a successful first year.
Taxi industry veteran Amberine Nawaz set up Helli Cars and Pink Ladies when she returned to Yorkshire after living in Surrey.
The mum-of-two decided to set up the business – which also carries male passengers – to focus on making women and girls feel safer during journeys. And at the end of a trip, drivers wait for passengers to get through their front door before they set off, something that has been appreciated by customers.
Reassurance
Amberine told the Telegraph & Argus the reason she set up the business was that she became anxious when her then eight-year-old daughter was travelling in a taxi from school to the remote farmhouse they were living in at the time and struggled to get a mobile phone signal to contact her.
The situation led Amberine to set up the female-focused PHV service to reassure others, especially when travelling alone on remote country roads with no one around.
As well as providing a dedicated service, the cars are painted bright pink so they stand out for vulnerable passengers such as women and girls on their own, as well as the elderly.
And after a successful first year from its Skipton base, the firm is now expanding into Bradford – and Amberine wants to inspire other women to become taxi drivers.
She told the Telegraph & Argus: “I’m quite lucky that I’ve not had that experience with any unfortunate experience, but I’ve had women telling me what’s happened.
“People do share stories with us all the time. It’s needed more than I anticipated.”
Positively pink!
Describing feedback from people online, Amberine said: “The messages we had were absolutely amazing, everyone saying, ‘we can’t wait for this’.
“It’s unfortunate that we’re in the 21st century and there is a need. It’s a deeper problem and it’s needed.
“Men have had equally as bad experiences.
“It’s been positive. We’re a bit of a counselling role as well when they feel they can open up and talk to us.
“We wait for them to go in the house. Little things like that make such a difference.”
It is this extra care that led Amberine to launch the chaperone service, in which drivers will accompany vulnerable passengers such as the elderly to hospital appointments.
