Horsham's last remaining female taxi driver says farewell to life behind the wheel

Joan Carmichael has been running P & J Cars with her husband Peter for the past 37 years but is to finally retire this week.

The couple, who live in Broadbridge Heath, first launched the taxi firm in 1986. “When I first started there were about three female taxi drivers,” said Joan. “But they dropped by the wayside and I have been left the lone woman.”

She said many women customers preferred to have a woman driver, rather than a man. "They feel safer and feel it’s safer for their children.”

Being a female driver has had its funny moments, says Joan. “A lot of people used to get in the car and say ‘Hello, mate’ and then say ‘Oops, sorry, you’re a lady.”

But, she said, she had also had some less welcome experiences. “There are some unsavoury characters around,” she said. She recalled one occasion some years ago. “I had a guy who was very drunk, fairly late in the evening. I took him to Haywards Heath and told him how much the fare was and he said ‘You will have to bill me’.

"He went indoors and I got out of the car and knocked on the door – and he set his dogs on me. I reported it to the police but his wife later sent me the money and an apology, which was nice, but it should have come from him.

"You get people who go here and there and don’t pay. You meet all sorts of people in this job.” But most, she said, were lovely.

She recalled one regular customer from Monks Gate who left her and husband Peter £200 in her will when she passed away.

At one time, she and Peter employed six drivers. “We’ve seen a lot of changes over the years.” The introduction of card payments has been one recent switch that doesn’t always go smoothly. “Card payments are good – if you can get a signal.”

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Another change has been Horsham District Council’s ruling that all local taxis should be white in colour. “We had blue when we first started, Atlas had red, others were black – we all had different colours. “If someone left something in a taxi we could just ask which colour it was and then we knew straight away which taxi firm it was.”

Recent changes have also made their mark. "The thing that’s worrying now is the knife crime and the drugs,” said Joan. It’s getting more scary. I don’t think it’s a job for a woman any more.”

Her husband, she said, had a knife pulled on him during a trip to Crawley around 12 years ago. “You don’t really know who you are picking up.”

Sixty-eight-year-old Joan gave up taking night fares when she turned 60, But, she said, she still enjoyed the job. “I wouldn’t have done it for so long if I hadn’t enjoyed it,” she said. “I will miss it, but I feel the time is right.”

She retires on Friday (March 17) and is looking forward to putting her feet up for a while – she and husband Peter are off on a 15-night cruise to Barbados.