Women at the wheel

Annahita Mistree, 50, who lives with her parents at Jogeshwari’s Malcolm Baug loves to drive. She got behind the wheel of the family car when she was only 10 years old, she confesses. Today Mistree (whose original family name is Driver!) is one of the 30-odd women drivers employed by two special taxi services for wo-men in Bombay, reported The Times of India (TOI) on May 28, 2009. Both the services, Forshe (For She) and Priya-darshini, were started in 2007 to cater to the needs of women passengers and their families. Mistree, wearing her uniform of blue tunic and pink chiffon scarf, drives for Forshe whose cabs are decorated with sketches of heritage monuments, while the Priyadarshini’s taxis come in either black or gold. The fares are the same as for any other air-conditioned taxi service — starting at Rs 15.

Annahita Mistree (top) drives a Forshe taxi: "my clients keep coming back”

"I have been driving my cab for two years and have not heard even one adverse comment from male drivers. In fact some men give me the thumbs-up sign when I overtake them on the road,” Mistree told TOI. On the night shift she has to pick up passengers from the airport way past midnight but "we do not face any problems.” And though Bombay is a safe city for women drivers, Revathi Roy, managing director of Forshe Travels and Logistics Private Limited, informed TOI "we give our drivers some martial arts training along with some grooming and first aid knowledge, just in case they have a problem.”

Some of the women drivers have had to face resistance from their families, but Mistree informed TOI that both her family and her Baug were supportive. "I saw the advertisement for the job and applied and have chauffeured a whole range of women and their families… I always keep the atmosphere lively by talking with them and playing music they like. I don’t drive fast unless my customer is in a hurry and has to catch a flight or something like that. Some of my passengers are expectant mothers, others are housewives, some come with families. Many of my clients keep coming back to me. I see this as a good sign,” said Mistree, who has a BA degree from SNDT University.