Female Cabbies Retire.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XL, Issue 8, 22 February 1908, Page 41

Female Cabbies Retire.

The forty-six women who started driving cabs in the streets of Paris have dwindled down to twenty-two. Further, there are at present only two women taking lessons at the School of Practical Cabdriving, which, is open to all would-be cab-drivers. Mme. Duflat, the first woman who was granted a licence, has retired for personal reasons. Another woman won a small fortune in a lottery, and a third has married a well-to-do tradesman, whose acquaintance she made by taking him as a “fare.” The Countess of Lutgen, who was one of the first to mount the box, has yielded to the arguments of her relatives, who strongly objected to her choice of an occupation, and she has now retired into private life. The Society for the Protection of Animals is encouraging women to learn cab-driving, in the hope that their example will tend to check the ill-treatment of horses. , So far, however, they have met with no success. The cabmen now realise that their interests are not seriously threatened, and . their incivility towards their female competitors has become marked courtesy. The police authorities say that the experiment of granting licenses to women has, from the public’s point of view, been .a complete success. The cabwomen always obey the police regulations, drive very well, and look after their horses admirably. © © ©