Taxi 528

Rowena Hopper

A Memoir

Have you ever wondered what really happens inside a taxi? Bit of a voyeur are you? Come take a ride with me...

Working as a female cabbie driving the night shift in Perth in my 20’s and 30’s I experienced many situations that gave me amazing insight into the people around me. Picking up many odd yet fascinating fares, I discovered there is no ‘normal’ in human nature.   From men in tutus, girls on the game, the Commissioner of Police, the newspaper seller on the street corner, drunken louts, to near misses, they have all altered the way I see life. 

As a female driver I was in a unique position to gain the trust of women instantly as I was no threat and most men respected me for having the guts to do the job in the first place.  Being extremely tolerant and compassionate with everyone I made friends quickly and easily; it was a fun filled seven years.

I want you to feel my fury when four young people rob me, my sense of amazement when the cab is filled with water, my fear when being attacked and finally my joy at finding true love.

I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I did!

 

 

 

About the Author

Rowena Hopper was born in 1962 in Windsor, UK, into a large family that came to Australia as 10 Pound Poms in 1966. Being a middle child with seven siblings she felt she needed to stand out and was constantly in trouble as a result!

Hating the conformity of organised education, Rowena learnt about people and human nature from the “school of life”, always interested in how they all tick.

She has had a wide variety of occupations that included selling pots and pans, being a spare parts interpreter for Porsche, as an interior designer, running a pet store, as a real estate agent, and mystery shopper, plus many more. Able to turn her hand to just about anything Rowena is now happily running a second-hand book store.

Creative by nature she loves to invent things and often thinks outside the square. Enjoying art, sculpture, design and writing she has now turned her hand to a memoir about her life as a taxi driver.

Rowena still lives in Perth with her adorable Burmese cat Karma and wonderful husband Maurice.