Born into a well-educated Pakistani family in Bradford, 44-year-old Amberine Nawaz reflects fondly on her upbringing, crediting her parents for instilling in her and her siblings the importance of education and success. Now a mother of two, she cherishes the supportive environment that shaped her early years.
“I come from a family of professionals,” Amberine said. “My parents were very supportive of their daughters and promoted us to get an education to do well in life.”
Amberine later moved to Surrey in 2005 and lived there for 15 years before moving back to Yorkshire. She had a taxi company in Surrey, where she was a trained and licensed teacher and assessor. It was those skills that she used to start the Pink Ladies taxi business.
“It’s always been a passion of mine to have a ladies taxi company,” she said. “There were none that I found reliable enough for my daughter.”
As a single parent, Amberine recalls the incident that truly cemented in her the need to start a taxi company that focuses on girls. She was on the phone with her daughter, who got into a taxi and lost signal for a few minutes.
“As a mother, so many things go through your mind. God forbid anything happened to her… I didn’t know anybody; I had no family or friends in the Skipton area.”
Knowing that there weren’t any significant companies in the area that offered such a service, Amberine decided to start her own. Equality and diversity are important to her, so she offers female and male taxi drivers, as well as special services for the elderly and for people with disabilities.
“I realised there’s nothing for the elderly people of Skipton. There are a lot of elderly people here. They’re disadvantaged and vulnerable, and they need to get about. For that reason, and for the disabled, I got a wheelchair accessible van. I am health and social care trained, and so are my drivers, so we can support elderly people.”
Amberine’s journey hasn’t been without challenges. Being a woman in a male-dominated field, she faced hostility from male-taxi owners who tried to stop her from setting up a business and spoke to her son in an attempt to make him dissuade her. However, Amberine was determined and refused to back down from her project.
“They didn’t know I’m from Bradford. They thought I’m from London, and that I’m coming to take away their business.”
Amberine explained that they eventually became more accepting of her as they realised the necessity of her service. The rest of the challenges regarding the business arose from the paperwork and legalities involved in starting a taxi company, like a DBS that took 10 months to complete.
The reception in Skipton for Amberine’s service has been hugely positive and encouraging as “everybody in the area absolutely loves the idea”. Most parents want their daughters and sisters to be driven by women. Moreover, with Skipton being a tourist area, Pink Ladies regularly receives customers from outside Skipton who are visiting the area as the taxi provides trips to the airport and other common areas of interest.
Amberine’s family was always supportive of her endeavours, even before it became successful. Her brother helped her with IT-related matters regarding her business. Her parents were always encouraging, especially her dad, who taught her there are no limits. Although her mum was worried for her safety, she was supportive after Amberine assured her the cars and phones had trackers and other safety measures.
For Amberine, this business is a project that’s close to her heart. As a single parent, she knew it was her sole responsibility to make sure her children are safe. Moreover, the service provides immense relief to many others.
“When I pick people up, quite a lot tell me it’s great to have female drivers. Sad stories have happened in taxis, it’s very unfortunate. One woman was telling me her sister got beaten up, and another was telling me how a taxi driver put his hand on her legs. It’s not the best of times for women so for me it’s about providing that safety, which is obviously really important.”
Amberine launched the business in October 2023, and within a year it has seen significant success. She is currently in the process of opening a branch in Bradford and is also looking at expanding to Sheffield by August 2025. If successful, she eventually wants to offer the taxi services in more parts of the country.
Amberine is aware that this type of service is not new or unheard of in the UK, but she is passionate about it.
“I get a lot of comments from people saying it’s not new, and I appreciate that, but it’s my passion and I know what I put into my business,” she said. “I think that maybe it stands out slightly because of the companies that have set this up in the UK, I’m probably the only South Asian person that has, so it’s quite a new thing for an Asian woman to do it.”
