Kozhikode: Launched with much fanfare, the She Taxi service, exclusively for woman, is set to disappear from the streets of Kozhikode. Introduced to ensure safety of women travellers, the service will go off the roads in the city very soon.
Out of the four existing She Taxi cars in the city, two have been repainted and converted to private taxis. One of the remaining taxis is also in the process of being converted into a private taxi. Female drivers who pledged their houses and land to buy cars for the She Taxi service are in dire straits today. Though two taxis are providing She Taxi services, they are running without help of a call centre or safety features like mobile apps.
The She Taxi service was launched with much pomp four years ago by the social welfare department in 2014 when attacks against women became frequent. With female drivers and safety measures, the service promised a safe journey to women passengers. It was introduced in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. A call centre was set up to coordinate the operations from Thiruvananthapuram. Those who needed the taxi service had to book the service through call centre, which would manage the taxis in all the three cities.
Thiruvananthapuram had 22 She Taxis, while Ernakulam had 14. Most of these have stopped their services now and the remaining are on strike. Compared to other taxis, She Taxis claimed to offer a cheaper ride to female passengers.
Initially, the call centre was managed by the Gender Park under the social welfare department and an IT company. The 24-hour call centre had facilities to book taxies and monitor their services. After the launch, it worked properly for a year. When the contract with the IT company was over, Gender Park took no efforts to renew it. Though Gender Park took over the call centre, it didn't work.
Drivers admit that the downfall of the services became complete when the She Taxi service was brought under the women's development corporation one-and-a-half years ago. The call centre stopped working and as a result, they stopped getting new customers.
For the past one year, the She Taxi was sustained by regular passengers. Since this is not feasible, two of the She Taxis in Kozhikode became regular taxis and others are looking at other ways to sustain themselves. Besides, the She Taxi drivers were having a tough time in the city since they do not have a place to park their vehicles and had to face opposition from private taxi drivers.
"I had pledged my 10-cent plot and house at Chathamangalam to get a Rs 7 lakh loan from the women's development corporation to buy a Maruti Ertiga for the She Taxi service. Since the service worked properly in the first year I could manage the repayments. The repayments stopped when the call centre stopped functioning and I had to run the service without even a parking slot," says driver K Jeeja.
"I am now receiving frequent confiscation notices. These days I only get passengers through acquaintances and I barely manage to maintain the car and pay the insurance. I had to start a ladies tailoring unit to stay afloat. Since it is difficult to function like this, I have decided to convert my She Taxi into a private taxi. But I believe that if the women's development corporation wants it can run the service efficiently," she says.
She Taxi service is essential for a city like Kozhikode. If more She Taxi services are launched, a central call centre is set up under the women's development corporation and a parking facility is provided in the city, more women can use the service and help sustain it.
