"we just need that safety."
A pink taxi service in Skipton is aimed at women and girls, providing safe travel.
Amberine Nawaz launched Pink Ladies taxis in October 2023 to provide a safe service primarily for women and children.
She said: “Not only do we have a female driver but when we drop a customer off we make sure the customer has got through their front door before we move.”
Joanne Flynn-Smith, who regularly uses the service for her 17-year-old daughter, said:
“You never know what’s going to happen these days and at least you know with a female driver, we know it’ll be on time and it’s safe.
“It just seems better security for her.”
The taxi firm has three female drivers and Ms Nawaz hopes to recruit two more.
She continued: “I pick 14-year-olds and 16-year-olds up where their mum’s booking the taxi.
“There’s such a market. We’re in a rural area, it can be 10 minutes before you see another person.
“So I just think the young girls that are out or even older women, we just need that safety.”
Female-only taxis have been used elsewhere in the UK, including in Nottingham where Think Pink was launched in spring 2022.
She said: “Safety is paramount and we get a lot of customers that get into the car and say how great it is to have a female driver because they may have had a bad experience.”
Alison Hume, Labour MP for Scarborough and Whitby, welcomed the service and said:
“I remember schemes such as this in London and other cities and they were very popular and I think it’s a brilliant idea for a taxi service to offer this for women.”
Ms Flynn-Smith books the pink taxi when her daughter works late in the town centre.
She explained: “Occasionally we’re not able to fetch her so we book Pink Ladies to bring her home safely.
“It’s really reassuring.
“The only reason we let her take on the job was because we knew somebody reliable could bring her home.”
Ms Nawaz confessed she was a “pink princess”, saying:
“My kitchen is pink, the car’s pink, I normally wear pink, pink handbag, pink shoes, pink everything.”
She plans to expand into other towns in Yorkshire but for now, she is enjoying being a taxi driver in Skipton.
Ms Nawaz added: “I absolutely love Skipton, it’s absolutely beautiful.
“Our traffic compared to dealing with the M25 is minimal.
“In the morning our traffic is about five or six cars and that’s at school time – that’s rush hour in Skipton.
“Everybody’s so friendly, it’s a beautiful little place to live.”
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