University of Virginia Library

Local Female Taxi Driver
Recounts Tales Of Students

By Thom Faulders
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

"You don't have to be crazy to
drive a cab, but it helps," said
Virginia Wolfe, the celebrated
female cab driver who will expound
on any subject from Darwin to the
activities of the University.

Mrs. Wolfe, who has been
driving for the Yellow Cab
Company for three years here in
Charlottesville, has often been
teased about her name.

Once, about two years ago, she
picked up five first-year men at the
dorms and was taking them to one
of the downtown movie theaters
when the gentleman sitting in the
middle of the back seat started
screaming. His fellow students
asked him what was wrong but he
jumped from the car and yelled,
"I'm afraid of Virginia Wolfe." He
was last seen running away down
Emmet Street.

Another Passenger

Another passenger in the form
of a little old lady, got into the cab
with Mrs. Wolfe and inquired after
some time if Virginia Wolfe was
really her name. When she received
an affirmative answer, she replied,
"I didn't think that you looked like
that!"

Mrs. Wolfe feels that the car she
drives is a projection of herself. If
her car becomes defective or
someone has the misfortune of
running into her, she becomes
extremely upset.

She recounted one story of a
University student who did just
that. She was behind the student,
who had a date with him and was
driving a Thunderbird, at a
stoplight. Because the student was
engaged in an activity that
somewhat deprived him of
complete attention to the traffic
light, he sat through part of it.
Though admittedly somewhat
impolite, Mrs. Wolfe gave him a
short beep on her horn to his
attention back to the traffic.

Not Appreciative

Apparently not appreciative of
this, the student slowed down after
making the turn and tried to cause
Mrs. Wolfe to run into him. Because
of the extremely crowded weekend
traffic conditions, she was careful
and avoided the slowed automobile.
Not satisfied with one unsuccessful
tactic, the student attempted to
park his car in the crowded
conditions, assuming that the
female cab driver would be unable
to back up sufficiently to permit
such a maneuver.

According to Mr. Wolfe, "he
backed up once and purposely
slammed into me. He did it two
more times before I lost my
patience and set that pretty car of
his on its radiator." She added that
he decided not to park there. This
is the only case of rudeness by a
student that she can remember
since being here.

Bilingual Driver

Mrs. Wolfe has also become
known as a bilingual cab driver.
One University student used to
work as the cab dispatcher during
his spare time, and because he
would often become bored, he
would speak several languages over
the air. Mrs. Wolfe knew some
Spanish and answered the
dispatcher in that language. This so
amazed her passengers that every so
often someone calls the company
and requests the bilingual cab
driver.

She also explained her fondness
for her car by the fact that she has
kept the same number on her cab.
"Most cab drivers," she said, "when
they get a new car, don't care about
things such as numbers and very
rarely do they get the same one.
But I was very fond of my old
Studebaker and so I requested the
same number, 38."

Human Rights

Always strong for human rights
and professional dependability,
Mrs. Wolfe often discusses the
policies of her cab company with
her superiors. She feels that
assigned cabs should not be loaned
out to the part-time drivers,
because they "have no respect for
or knowledge of" the car. Her
opinions proved correct when her
car was loaned out to such a driver
and "he wrapped it around a
telephone pole."

Big Weekends have always been
fun for her, she says, and she loves
to recount stories of her spirit-filled
passengers during such festivities.
One first-year man had waited
rather late to find lodging for his
date who was due to arrive a few
hours later, as she recalls. He
hopped into her cab and went to
several motels and hotels in
Charlottesville before he finally
found a room. She said that he
found out that was not the
most economical way to find the
room and towards the end of the
ride, every time the meter clicked
the boy would cry a little.

Traffic Director

Another time she was caught up
in a Carr's Hill traffic jam during
one Midwinter's Weekend, and
several cars were having trouble
getting onto University Avenue.
She recalled that one of the
passengers of the lead car in the
group got out of the car and
proceeded to direct traffic with a
"drunken elegance" that only a
University student could achieve.

She once picked up two
brothers of ZBT and their dates at
the Downtowner Motor Inn. One of
the students, as he got into the cab,
commented that nothing had gone
right that evening and that now
they had a woman cab driver to
take them out to their house.
Indignantly, Mrs. Wolfe asked the
boys how fast they wanted to get
to their destination. One-and-a-half
minutes was the reply, and 87
seconds later they were there.

'No Hurry'

A year later, another ZBT
brother caught a ride with Mrs.
Wolfe from the train station to the
house. When explaining where he
wished to go, he quickly added that
he was in no hurry to get there.

Mrs. Wolfe commented, "Cab
drivers like the students of the
University and always try to be
courteous. Cabs are always sent
when they are called for and the
student should stay and wait for
the cab." She said that she gives
impromptu tours of the
Charlottesville area, including
Monticello, Ash Lawn and the
Grounds, for $5 an hour. And she
added, "Cab drivers will deliver
anything, even babies."