If you hail a cab at a downtown hotel or at the airport, odds are your driver will be an immigrant from Africa.

There are now hundreds of Africans working in the Denver taxi industry. They started driving cabs in large numbers in the early 1990s, and their ranks have been bolstered by new arrivals.

For the immigrants, driving a cab is an occupation that doesn't require perfect English or an education.

"Some jobs want experience and a diploma, but you don't need that pushing metal," said Daniel Negash, a driver originally from Ethiopia.

Most of the drivers are married and have children. They say driving a taxi gives them the flexibility to run errands or take time off when their family needs them.

Almost all the drivers were recruited by relatives who introduced them to the taxi world.

"You support the people who are your blood - that's our culture," said Negash.

In Africa, many of the taxi drivers were part of farming families. Cab drivers in Denver are all independent contractors and many like the freedom that comes with being your own boss.

"It's the American dream - you have your own business and work your own days and set your own hours," said Ross Alexander, general manager of Yellow Cab.

Alexander estimates there are more than 1,200 cab drivers working the metro area.

Proficiency in English often determines the job prospects for an immigrant, and taxi drivers can get by with a limited vocabulary.

"If you don't know the language, it's hard" to work many other jobs, said Nur Negawo, who has been driving for several years. "All I have to do is ask them where they want to go."