A taxi service for women, by women

Tired of frisky taxi drivers giving you the once-over? Rather be chauffeured by a female cabbie who, incidentally, is also capable of having a cultivated conversation with you?

Forsche is a new women-only dial-a-cab service, the latest variation to hit the suddenly diversifying taxi operator space in Mumbai. The name is a play on German sports car Porsche and the fact that it is designed to keep men out (if read For She). "Thankfully a friend made me change the name from Lavender Dews, which in retrospect sounds like a perfume," laughs Revathi Roy, founder Forsche, who also happens to be an amateur rally driver.

Forsche currently has 18 silver and white (and pink) Versas and Wagon Rs zipping around town with their all-female contents and manifest sponsor branding (Marie Claire magazine for example), one of them driven by Roy herself. Lifestyle magazines, manicure sets and personal hygiene products are whimsical add-ons. Similar ladies-only taxi services exist in Dubai and Moscow, says Roy, but they are available only to paid members. Forsche's customers fork out premium fares"" a flat Rs 200 per hour. Standard rent-a-car charges start at Rs 800 for eight hours. However, Roy suggests she is working on other pricing models models, including installing a meter system. "The idea is to make it affordable to the target audience, not drain their resources," she says.

Forsche, says Roy, has less to do with women's lib and more to do with providing secure transportation for the city's female workforce. She demands the highest regard for safety from her drivers. Incidentally, she received 182 driver applications when she first advertised for 10. The drivers are all women above the age of 40 who can converse fluently in English. "Most of my drivers have cars and drive their own at home," laughs Roy.

When Forsche was launched, working hours were from 8 am to 8 pm. Soon after, Roy realised a night-time service would be appreciated, so operational hours are now 8 am to 12 am. Forsche already has some six-month contracts with local corporates. BPOs will be Roy's next target.

Roy hopes to take up her fleet to 50 as well as launch the service in Pune and Bangalore by the end of the year (part of a five-city plan). She claims to have already broken even, thanks to low capital expenditure (the cars are leased) and overheads. However, she realises the need to accost venture capital investors, if scale is to be achieved.

Roy, after just meeting two personal tragedies, is terribly upbeat. "We have a blast, my girls and I. And as long as we are having fun, it's all good," says Roy.