Women can now travel alone without having to worry about their safety. They can now hire women drivers. Taxshe, a start-up founded by Vandana Suri, a serial entrepreneur from Jalahalli, allows members of the fairer sex to hire women drivers.

She said the rape of a 27-year-old woman by an Uber cab driver in Delhi in 2014 inspired her to start such a service for women. “There are hardly any women drivers in Bengaluru. I started this service in January last year. Not just women, even elderly citizens and children can make use of the facility. We have 25 drivers and 86 regular clients every month. Sixty clients are using the service for picking up and dropping their children.”

In Taxshe, a woman driver is known as ‘Roo’, derived from ‘Kangaroo’ which is a strong and caring animal. The Roos are hired after extensive training and police verification, according to Suri. They are given six-month intensive training in driving skills, communication skills and basic self-defence. They are also provided with pepper sprays to defend themselves.

From single mother to cancer survivor, software professional to homemaker, women drivers come from diverse backgrounds.

Sharing her experience,  Reshma, a cancer survivor who has 20 years of driving experience, said: “I want to encourage other women to fight back in life and enjoy living! I am proud to be an inspiration for others to take this unconventional step.” Monali, who was working at an IT company till five years ago, decided to work as a ‘Roo’. “Through this job, I not only help my husband financially but am also safe because I drive only women and kids.”

Suri said she now planned to start a cab service for women, children and senior citizens in February under the ‘Taxshe’ banner. For details, visit www.taxshe.com or call 8884950088.