'Females in The Fleet' Charter Aims to Address Gender Imbalance in Taxi Industry
A new charter has been launched to encourage more female drivers to join the taxi and private vehicle hire industry.
- The taxi industry has been male dominated for decades, and recent Government statistics suggest that as few as 3% of taxi drivers are female.
- Encouraging women into the industry is challenging as it’s thought to be a high-risk working environment for females. However, the Females in The Fleet Charter is responding to this issue.
- The Charter provides support and training to help women join the private hire and taxi industry. They are also dedicated to providing a safe and positive workplace.
Table of Contents
1. The female taxi driver population
2. Why are there so few female taxi drivers?
3. Principles of the AAA Females in The Fleet pledge
4. Growing the female taxi service
The Females in The Fleet charter was launched on International Women’s Day by Rachel Dale of AAA Taxis and aims to re-address the gender imbalance in the taxi industry.
Female Taxi Drivers
According to the Department for Transport, in 2022 97% of all taxi drivers (both private hire and hackney cab) were male. However, women take more taxi and private hire vehicle trips than men, and requests for female drivers are high. However, women take more taxi and private hire vehicle trips than men, and requests for female drivers are high.
One of the main concerns surrounding women in the industry is safety and the charter aims to actively encourage, train and mentor female drivers to join the industry, while providing a safe working environment.
AAA Taxis run monthly training courses for new female drivers and demand is high with courses fully booked each month. The support continues even after the training course has finished, with help throughout the application process and sourcing a vehicle which can sometimes be the most difficult part.
Why are there so few female taxi drivers?
The reason why the numbers for women taxi drivers are so low is that the job is often perceived as unsafe for women.
Taxi drivers in the UK face many issues, including abusive customers, non-payments, and even robbery.
These issues make it difficult to encourage women into the industry, especially with the rise in drug and knife-related crimes.
Though the Females in The Fleet Charter (FITF) aims to change this, with a ten-point pledge.
The AAA pledge sets out the following for female taxi drivers:
- To promote the industry to women
- To actively recruit women
- To provide a safe working environment for women
- To provide ongoing training in conflict management, sexual harassment, professional driving standards and ongoing safety
- To provide bespoke benefits
- To provide mentoring
- To provide access to a support network
- To ensure equal pay
- To partner and be endorsed by third parties interested in the welfare of women in the industry
- To encourage the industry to adopt the pledge and collaborate to deliver the charter
The charter already has the backing of Private Hire News, The Licensed Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA), and a number of taxi firms across the country. Show your support for female taxi drivers by signing the charter.
Growing the female taxi service
If you are interested in joining the taxi industry as a female taxi driver, you can sign up to the Females in The Fleet newsletter.
This provides you with all the training and support needed to reach your goals, as well as information on funding and sponsorship. Register for the newsletter and contribute to a growing network of women taxi drivers.
Learn more about the Charter and its dedication to female taxi drivers by visiting the website.
If you are interested in becoming a female taxi driver, we have a wide selection of taxis from leading manufacturers that would help you provide a high-quality service to your customers. Discover taxis from Skoda, Toyota, levc, kia and more online at The Taxi Centre.