Unwanted comments and advances from some male taxi drivers make Rosalie DeMaio question whether she can safely rely on cabs to get around Iqaluit.

The 22-year-old college student is promoting a women-focused rideshare service, saying women shouldn’t have to choose between an uncomfortable taxi ride and staying home.

“[Drivers] have said creepy stuff to me, and I don’t want my friends or myself to deal with that,” DeMaio said in an interview.

“I can’t keep living in fear and I think other people feel the same way.”

She is organizing a community meeting Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. at the YWCA-Agvik women’s shelter to discuss creating a Facebook group, app or carpooling network where women could co-ordinate rides among themselves.

The idea grew from noticing that her female friends often FaceTime one another while travelling by taxi to the grocery store or from bars at night.

“That’s when I started thinking, if we shared our cars, organize ourselves better, and make more of a community effort to help each other out like that, I feel like it would be a different story,” the Nunavut Arctic College student said. 

DeMaio said one time a driver called her “baby girl” when asking about her night at the bar and then offered her wine.

“I said, ‘No, I want to go to bed.’ And he said, ‘You can go to my bed,'” DeMaio said, adding that she has also been followed or watched after being dropped off. 

DeMaio said she has not complained directly to Caribou Cabs, Iqaluit’s largest taxi service, because her focus when she feels unsafe is getting home rather than noting the cab’s licence plate number. 

Caribou Cabs has not received any direct complaints from female passengers about inappropriate behaviour, said Rod Mugford, the company’s business development compliance manager. 

“No business is without complaints,” Mugford said.

“Don’t get me wrong. But we haven’t heard about someone coming forward and saying directly to Caribou Cabs that they felt uncomfortable by how they were talked to or they felt uncomfortable while they were in a cab with a driver.”

Mugford said he’s aware issues exist through social media posts and “third-party information.”

The company began implementing a broader health and safety and human resources program in January, including training on passenger and driver safety, anti-harassment, sexual misconduct, and cultural sensitivity.

Drivers are taught not to ask passengers personal questions, such as whether a passenger is married or single, he said. 

The program is intended to prevent problems rather than simply respond to complaints, Mugford said.

Caribou Cabs is also upgrading cameras in its vehicles to record audio and video inside and outside the cab, Mugford said, adding most of the fleet is already equipped.

DeMaio has also raised concerns about taxi drivers picking up additional passengers before taking her home.

Mugford said the bylaw permits one additional passenger, but passengers who are uncomfortable with another person entering the cab should tell the driver, who can use discretion about making the additional stop.

DeMaio is trying to get funding to develop an app. She hopes the project will eventually have an Inuktitut name reflecting women helping each other reach a safe place.

“I think this is important and if no one else is gonna do it, I’ve got to stand up and do it myself,” DeMaio said.