Saudi Gazette CAIRO/DUBAI — Taxis for women, driven by women, is a dream that has come true in in both Dubai and Cairo, with Dubai starting the program years ago with its family taxi and Egypt recently starting its program with a trial through a private company. Dubai taxis for women are easily spotted at the airport, malls and other places by the female drivers wearing pink scarfs in taxis with pink roofs. Many Saudis of who travel to Dubai prefer to use the service as they feel more comfortable with a female driver. In Egypt, the pink, female taxis are only available upon prior booking and are driven by female drivers. Many Egyptians believe that the service is a good step, but despite the optimism, some have complained of the high cost of the service, while others believe that female taxis exploit women's fear of harassment. Almaas is a Saudi in her mid-20s, who believes that Dubai's female taxis are an extraordinary service. "I travel a lot to Dubai, I usually take it from the airport to the hotel, and sometimes I order a ride, it's much comfortable to have a female driver. I feel safer, especially for us as Saudis, it's a great idea and it has been doing a good job in Dubai. I like their outfit, the pink roof of the cars, it's unique," she said. "Dubai taxis are a bit expensive compared to Saudi and the female taxi prices are fare because we have privacy." In Egypt, many Egyptian women said they were happy with the idea of a female taxi service, but after experiencing the trial many said they believed that it was no more than a commercial project that exploited fear of harassment. Esraa Ghanem is an Egyptian female who works as a travel advisor and said she was disappointed by the quality of female taxis in Egypt. "I was very excited about the idea and I wanted to try it. I called female taxi, as my trip from my home to my work place is less that 2o km. When I called to book a taxi they kept me on hold for a long time and then told me that my trip was going to cost me 150 LE, which is too expensive compared to a similar private taxi with a male driver that would cost me maximum 35 LE," she said. "I cancel the order immediately but after ten minutes they called me back to apologize that the price they gave me was wrong and that the actual price was 120 LE. I told him how much I appreciated him calling me but I was not interested as again this price was insane." "I felt disappointed as it appeared to me that they are using harassment as an element to get people to pay. I even went to their Facebook and checked the comments. It was all about my concern: price." Esraa usually uses other private taxi services that are also very safe and protect women from harassment. She said Uber and Careem private taxi services have been doing a good job in Egypt, and remain her main transport choice that she uses for her daily duties. Esraa believes that taking a taxi with male driver is still safe, and that Uber and Careem taxis works around the clock. "When I thought about it, I think having a male driver is much safer that a lady driver with a labeled Taxi indicating that there are only a lady in the car. I heard about Dubai's female taxi and I wish we have the same quality of services in Egypt," Esraa said.
