Mama cares about the commuters
"There is no such thing as 'men's jobs' any more, we do need more women in the taxi industry"
BEING a taxi driver for more than 30 years, Ann ‘Mama’ Hadebe (54) has mastered the taxi industry, which is mostly known as a ‘men’s world’.
Mama, as she is known in the taxi ranks, lives in Dassenhoek and drives taxis from Mariannridge to Pinetown and Durban.
She started driving taxis from Ladysmith to Johannesburg in the early 80s, and she is one of the few women under the Pinetown Taxi Association.
Mama, who is a mother to four girls and a wife, worked for various companies in Ladysmith before joining the taxi industry.
“It was not my dream to become a taxi driver, but after being retrenched a couple of times I decided to take up driving lessons and get a licence,” she explained.
When Mama was asked about her challenges in this industry. which is known to people as a dangerous world, she said she has not experienced any major difficulties.
“Other taxi drivers respect me, but when I first started some drivers use to mock my husband, who is also in this industry, for allowing me to do a man’s job. But that did not worry him, as he had faith in me. Being in this industry has not affected my role as a mother and a wife.
“This is a normal job like any other, I used to do all my chores as a mother and now my children are all grown up.”
Mama said she does not regret the decision she made, “My girls are now grown up and one of them is studying to be a teacher, and the second one is studying for a nursing diploma through the money I have saved over the years,” she said.
The experience she has gathered has made her popular to her passengers because of her driving.
“The passengers love me because I care about their safety, I have not been involved in an accident since I started. Mistakes do happen, but I believe that if you are not speeding it is easy to avoid accidents.”
She added that her dream now is to open her own driving school and teach women to drive taxis.
“There is no such thing as ‘men’s jobs’ any more, we do need more women in the taxi industry,” said Mama
She has received an award for her compassion towards the passengers.
