Life in a cab

From too much alcohol to fleeing to Nice

Ida Björkhagen is a taxi driver with heart and soul. She often has wonderful and touching encounters along the way.(Bild: Doris Seebacher)

It's not an easy job, but it is a varied one - Ida Björkhagen from Ternitz talks about the joys and sorrows of everyday life behind the wheel. In any case, the industry is currently on the upswing.

While cab driving used to be more of a "male domain", around 15 percent of companies are now in female hands. One female cab driver is 38-year-old Ida Björkhagen from Ternitz in the district of Neunkirchen. She had to take over the business in 2009 after the sudden death of her mother. Alongside her, there are six other women in the team.

From vomiting and fleeing customers 

The job behind the wheel is tough. But sexual assaults, which you often hear about in big cities, fortunately don't tend to happen in the countryside. "At most, stupid comments from drunks," says Björkhagen. 

I have the feeling that men often show more respect for women and that they are often uncomfortable when they are drunk.

Ida Björkhagen, Taxiunternehmerin aus Ternitz

However, it does happen that someone has had too much to drink and then throws up in the cab. "But fortunately rarely, because I tell the customers how much it will cost when they get in," laughs the taxi driver. An extra 300 euros for cleaning and lost revenue.

Occasionally there are also problems with passengers who don't want to pay. "One even jumped out of the moving car," Björkhagen explains. In such cases, the police are simply called to help. 

Touching and sad moments 
The fact that the cab profession also has beautiful sides is particularly evident when transporting elderly people who pour their hearts out in the cab. Her most touching experience was when she drove eight refugee women from the Ukrainian border to Nice. "I heard all their worries and problems on the journey, from the husbands who stayed in the war zone to the cats they had to leave behind," says Björkhagen. She is still in contact with the women today.

But there are also sad experiences. Some time ago, for example, she drove an elderly lady from Neunkirchen to Bratislava, where her supposed son was waiting for her. He called the whole journey and asked where she was. "In the end, it turned out to be a fraudster and he then took 80,000 euros from the lady in Bratislava," says Björkhagen.

Cab companies are growing again 
There are currently around 780 cab companies in Lower Austria. The number has been declining in recent years, particularly in rural areas. Now, however, it is rising again slightly. "One of the reasons for this is the fact that, for the past year, cabs have been used to transport patients in cooperation with ÖGK if they are unable to use public transport for health reasons," says Günther Berger, Chairman of the Taxi Section, who is pleased with the increase.

140 cab companies are already ÖGK contract partners. "We are back on the path of having three mainstays: school transportation, cab operations and patient transportation," concludes Berger.