Driving a taxi is not only for men as a 43-year-old mother of four is living proof that women can do well in public service transportation.

Lusia Evagelia, hails from the village of Aufaga. Driving a taxi has ensured that she is living happily with her family and not having to worry about meeting financial commitments. She is the only female taxi driver in the area and up until recently she was probably the first female taxi driver in Samoa.

Mrs. Evagelia believes that driving a taxi should not be looked as a men's job. She said women feel safer getting into taxis when the driver is a woman.

“I have been driving for over two decades and with my own experience, I believe that women can be good taxi drivers. I got my business license and from then my husband and I bought taxis from a very kind friend. In the same year, I was told that I am the first woman that was given a taxi business license,” Mrs. Evagelia said.

She said her husband supported her decision of driving a taxi. She said it was him who encouraged her to get a license and motivated her to get into the profession by telling her that if he could do it, then so could she.

Mrs. Evagelia is a mother of four. The family now owns three taxis. This is through the hard work over the years and careful planning. She said her husband and her have sacrificed and saved money to make their business a successful one. 

She estimated that together they make a little over a thousand dollars a week which is far much more than what she was earning when employed.

"We have three taxis. I drive one, my husband drives one and his brother drives the other one. I usually earn around $600 a week and my husband earns almost $800 a week,” she said.

The money and savings, Mrs. Evagelia have are for the betterment of her children. She said she wants all of them to have a better education so they can end up with good jobs.

Mrs. Evagelia said before driving a taxi she was employed a private firm. She recalled the days of waking up early and catching a bus to go to work around 7am and then sometimes she would finish late in the evenings. She said after all that hard work she would earn around $250 a week.

She said setting up their own business was a blessing. She said having her own business meant that she could put in the same amount of hard work and get greater rewards.

She said the best thing she likes about her work is the flexibility that it gives her. She can tend to her children and home at any time of the day.

Mrs Evagelia feels that more women should take up the profession as she feels that women make better and safer drivers than men. She said people should let go of the mentality that driving a taxi is for men only.

“E au le inailau a tamaita’i, a very famous proverb in Samoa that simply means Women can achieve excellence comparable to men,” she said.