A chauffeur service which is looking to drastically expand its fleet is focusing on recruiting female drivers.
Eagle Chauffeuring, based in Stockton-on-Tees, specialises in luxury transport to events, proms, weddings and funerals, as well as port transfers. As it looks to extend its fleet fivefold this year, it is also taking on board feedback from female customers.
Changing direction
Eagle Chauffeuring prides itself on its staff who are appointed following an “extensive selection process to ensure we provide you with polite, discrete and professional chauffeurs who will always endeavour to exceed your expectations.”
It adds: “Our chauffeurs are regarded as some of the best in the industry with an intimate knowledge of the north-east and its environs.”
As it looks to expand its fleet from five vehicles to 30 this year, PHTM reports that it is recruiting male and female drivers to help meet demand.
PHTM said Eagle Chauffeuring “is actively seeking women drivers as part of an initiative to address the industry’s gender imbalance and cater to female passenger preference”.
The company was founded by Babar Malik and operates across Teesside, Durham and Newcastle and had been associated with his father’s taxi business.
Plenty to offer
Acknowledging that women have plenty to offer the trade, he told PHTM the company wants to fill “a real gap in the market, not just for luxury travel, but for women who want to work in a way that fits around their lives.”
The business wants to help women enter the sector by offering “full training, licensing support and access to its fleet of luxury vehicles” with successful applicants having the cost of their private-hire licences covered. They will also be provided with an Eagle Chauffeuring executive vehicle.
It is hoped the new women drivers will increase the number of female passengers using the service.
Mr Malik told PHTM: “We’ve had women tell us they feel more comfortable with a female driver, and that’s something we want to support.”
Bridging the gap
The shift also comes after the Department for Transport identified a major gender gap in the trade, with women making up less than 5% of licensed taxi and private hire drivers in England.
Eagle Chauffeuring says it is hoping to open doors to women of all backgrounds, with a specific focus on “mums and those seeking family-friendly working hours.”
PHTM also points to a 2021 YouGov poll which revealed that “43% of women would prefer a female driver when travelling alone at night, rising to over 60% among women aged 18 to 34.”
As well as addressing specific needs identified by customers, Eagle Chauffeuring is adopting a practical approach to filling the new roles.
Mr Malik told PHTM: “Everything is about providing the best of the best – from our cars to the drivers.” He added that the new female drivers will be “just as smart with business attire” as their male counterparts.
Specialist service
Whether chauffeurs are taking executives to important meetings, making sure the bride gets to the church on time, or getting young people to their prom, chauffeur insurance, also known as executive hire insurance, is essential. It is similar to private-hire insurance, but it is a specialised type of hire-and-reward insurance designed to cover the risks associated with carrying pre-booked executive passengers in high-value, luxury vehicles in exchange for payment.
It can be taken out by self-employed chauffeurs, or by chauffeur businesses with a fleet of executive vehicles, typically valued at over £35,000, including luxury saloons and executive cars, limousines, vintage and classic cars.
