Kirsten Murphy
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Dec 15/00) - Thirty years after Sandra Gellenbeck (nee Lust) was ripping up back roads in her parents' Pinto, the born-and-raised Yellowknifer offers the following advice to taxi passengers.
"Don't touch the heat or the radio. This is my space and I don't like anyone fiddling with it," she says with mock pleasure.
Gellenbeck has driven cabs for more than a decade, the last four years with YK Cabs. She calls it an addiction.
Nothing mimics the buzz of good conversations and quick cash.
By no means is she the city's first female taxi driver. But after living in Yellowknife all her life (save a brief foray south), Gellenbeck is likely the most recognized female cab driver.
The former social worker and real estate agent loves her job, the people she meets and the requests she receives.
"I had to deliver a toilet plunger the other night. Can you blame them? It's 40-below," she says. Other requests include the delivery of condoms, pets and dentures (not all on her shift).
Safety is also an important factor. To suggest women are any more vulnerable than men, she says, is misleading.
"I think I might even have an advantage. Other drivers have been punched but I've never really had a problem. Just drunks who are belligerent."
The biggest tippers? Intoxicated males and female Christmas shoppers. Shortest trip? Gold Range Hotel to the Corner Mart ($2-something). Longest drive? Yellowknife to Fort Providence ($350).
Three of her four children who still live at home appreciate her career choice. "They like it because I'm always on the road. I pretty well drive them all the time, especially when it's cold."
Her second husband of two years, Ahmed Da'ar, drives a cab with the competition. They have noticed a pattern when it comes to politicians like Finance Minister Paul Martin and his entourage: "They're not tippers."
When not driving cab, Gellenbeck works at her Dad's store, Johnson's Building Supplies.
Overall, Gellenbeck loves the flexibility and opportunities her behind-the- wheel job offers. "I work because I have to. I drive cab because I like to."
