CAMILLO taxi driver Judy Jones is proud to be the only woman among the five finalists for the Extraordinary Taxi Ride tourism campaign but admits her votes are lagging behind the male contestants.
Mrs Jones, a taxi driver for the past 17 years, said she entered the Tourism WA competition because she would love to see the north of WA, especially the dramatic Bungle Bungle Range.
The winning driver will take selected passengers in a specially branded taxi to top WA tourist destinations along 11 different routes.
The public can vote for their favourite taxi driver online and the winner will be determined on March 26.
But on Thursday last week, Mrs Jones’ votes were far behind the other contestants at 773 votes, while others had more than 2000 votes.
She said she could be at a disadvantage because she worked in a restricted area that covered the local government areas of Gosnells, Armadale and Cannington.
She also transports many elderly passengers who do not have access to the internet.
The new campaign website aims to promote WA destinations, offering travel deals, along with the ability to interact with the competition.
Tourism WA chief executive Stephanie Buckland said the internet was a powerful new consumer trend in tourism, with 77 per cent of all trips booked in Australia involving online research, with 69 per cent booking online.
“We hope that anyone wanting to vote for their favourite taxi driver could ask friends and family for help accessing the website,” Ms Buckland said.
To vote for your favourite taxi driver, nominate a destination or enter to be a passenger, visit www.extraordinarytaxiride.wa. gov.au.