Tillotama Shome Urges Mumbai Airport Authorities To Encourage Women Cab Drivers

Indian actor Tillotama Shome tweeted to the authorities of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, urging them to pay attention to the neglect being faced by women taxi drivers. Shome wrote about how pre-paid taxi counter should inform passengers on the availability of women cab drivers.

Shome wrote in her tweet that she was not the only passenger who felt this way, saying that she chatted with her lady driver about this issue. "These women are waiting for hours to get a ride. Come on #Mumbai of anyone can set this right, it's this city!!" she wrote, also enclosing a picture of her letter to the airport authorities.

The actor wrote in the letter that no one at the pre-paid taxi booking counter tells the passengers about the availability of these women taxi drivers at the Mumbai airport. She pleaded the authorities to ask the booking staff to encourage passengers to hire female cab drivers.

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"A driver is a driver. Come on Mumbai, we are better than this na?!! I have faith in this city. A city where a woman can travel at night safely," Shome added. See her post here.

The airport authorities soon replied to her tweet, saying that the passengers are informed about woman drivers for their preference. "Dear Ms. Shome, we would like to share with you that passengers are informed by the counter personnel that women driven cabs are available for their preference. Wishing you Goodness Always, Team CSMIA," read their response.

However, this isn't the first time that these woman taxi drivers were neglected at Mumbai airport. Earlier in 2019, the founder Priyadarshini Taxi Services along with six woman drivers approached to Bombay High Court demanding two independent pre-paid slots at the Mumbai Airport's Terminal 2. The petition mentioned that there had been a delay in allotting the slots by the airport authorities due to one reason or the other. However, the High Court dismissed their plea saying that it is a policy issue.

Women drivers have to deal with a lot of stereotypes, due to a common assumption that women are not good drivers. However, a good way to challenge such an outlook is to hire women cab drivers. For women travelling alone, being driven to their destination by a woman driver also provides a sense of safety, which means female travellers do seek out women-driven cabs. Whatever may be the reason, the truth remains that if we want gender equity in this industry we need to ensure that women cab drivers get business from customers which will encourage them to not leave the field. What's more, this encouragement and the resultant income could also encourage other women to join the workforce as women cab drivers.