Safety first

The name is quaint and apt. Knight Drivers is a new professional driver service set up in Bombay by sisters Tina and Shenaz Treasuryvala. "Our drivers chauffeur you to any destination you wish (in and around Bombay) while you relax comfortably in the back seat of your own vehicle. Your car is your comfort zone ­— familiar, clean and convenient. Our drivers are available 24x7,” explains Tina.

It was a recent unpleasant experience that drove the sisters to set up this service. Returning home after a fun night out, the girls realized that they were being followed by two men on a bike and a group of drunken revelers in a powerful car. "They started cutting our path, troubling us and shouting out vulgarities. We were helpless against so many men,” Tina narrates. With presence of mind, the girls took a U-turn and entered the driveway of the nearby Intercontinental Hotel. Phoning their father in the middle of the night, "we asked him to drive all the way to town to rescue his damsels in distress. That’s when we decided to start a chauffeur service,” says Tina who also runs a speech and creative drama academy called Starkids and is currently busy preparing for their annual stage production on September 13 at St Andrews Auditorium at Bandra. Shenaz is not involved with the day-to-day running of Knight Drivers. A vivacious and well recognized actress and TV host, Shenaz has done shows for MTV Asia, Discovery Channel and Star TV.

Tina and Shenaz Treasuryvala: enterprising and innovative

In a city where cabbies and other drivers are often a law unto themselves and drunk driving is a major cause of fatalities on Indian roads, Knight Drivers’ chauffeurs are "police-verified, married and have many years of experience… They are reliable, affordable, convenient and safe.” PYTs (pretty young things) who want to go out at night, don’t have a date and don’t want to depend on their male friends can call Knight Drivers, says Tina. "The response has been great! People use our chauffeurs for business, airport transfers, weekend getaways, weddings, children’s parties, clubbing… We’ve had corporates calling us for drivers. We are in the process of tying up with event management companies, nightclubs, etc. Our desire is to build a lasting and genuine relationship with our clients. We have over 50 drivers and we keep growing every day,” the young entrepreneur asserts.

A day’s notice is required for a day driver. Same day reservations are possible subject to availability. For a night driver, calls should be made two hours prior to departure, but before 11 p.m. Knight Drivers are available on 9769334455.