Dubai's taxi service to undergo overhaul

Dubai's taxi service to undergo overhaul
By Ashfaq Ahmed, Staff Reporter
Published in Gulfnews: December 09, 2007, 00:23

Dubai: Complaints about a shortage of taxis and rude behaviour of drivers in the fast expanding emirate of Dubai are rampant these days.

Commuters feel that the taxi service is not up to the mark when it comes to matching the high living standards in the city.

Long queues of people waiting for taxis at the airport and shopping centres have become a common sight and it has also become very difficult to hail a taxi on the roadside. Also residents have to wait for taxis for a long time even if they reserve it by phone.

Gulf News spoke to Abdul Aziz Malek, new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Taxi Agency at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), about plans to deal with the situation.

Malek is also Chairman of the International Federation of Public Transport (UITP) for the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) Assembly and was involved in the past in developing the public bus system in Dubai.

Gulf News: Commuters complain that taxi drivers refuse to go to Sharjah especially during peak hours.

Abdul Aziz Malek: Yes, it is true that they do this despite the fact that they are not allowed to refuse passengers.

Taxi drivers refuse to take passengers from Dubai to Sharjah, Ajman and vice versa because a trip during peak hours takes two to three hours and they lose revenue because they have to meet their target.

Also, they can take passengers only in one direction and have to return empty because the current rules do not allow them to carry passengers on their way back to their respective emirates.

For example, if a taxi takes a passenger from Dubai to Sharjah or Ajman or any other emirate, it has to come back empty. The same rule applies to taxis coming to Dubai from other emirates.

How will you solve this issue?
I think it's time to revise the rule. Transport authorities in the neighbouring emirates need to talk to each other to allow taxis to take passengers while on their way back to their respective emirates instead of driving back empty.

We need to sit together to solve this issue because every minute is counted in the taxi operation because it is purely a commercial venture.

Taxi companies will have to work on the plan of "going full and coming full" instead of making just one-way revenue trips.

Taxi drivers also refuse to go to congested areas of Deira and Bur Dubai during peak hours. What are you doing to solve this issue?
We have finalised locations for 38 taxi stands across Dubai. Taxis will be distributed equally in the city and every station will have taxis. Passengers will be able to take taxis from these stations anytime while taxis booked over the phone will also be dispatched from the nearest station in the area.

Is there any plan to increase the number of taxis in Dubai?
We are currently studying the plan focusing on taxi needs in the emirate for the next five to 10 years. There is no immediate plan to increase the number of taxis but all the taxis will be working on double shifts from the first quarter of next year.

Currently, some 800 drivers work on double shifts. We will soon run all our taxis 24 hours day to overcome the taxi shortage. The franchise companies are already running two shifts.

What are your plans to improve the taxi service?
Dubai Taxi Agency is no more a regulatory body as this function has been taken over by the RTA. We are now purely a commercial operator and our aim is to improve our business. Customer care, information technology development and driver training and welfare are our targets.

The taxi service in the Gulf countries is still in the developing stage and Dubai has taken the lead. We are becoming more professional and customer oriented. We are focusing on improving driver conditions because we want to make them more relaxed for an improvement in service.

But how do you tackle complaints about rude drivers and those who refuse passengers a ride on short distances and congested area?
We do not tolerate rude drivers. We have tough rules for violators and we do not compromise on customer complaints and immediately take action against the erring drivers.

We regularly train them and try to make them more professional. We also request our passengers to report any such incident to the RTA on 8009090.

While complaining they should not forget to give the body number and the colour of the taxi to ensure action. Let me explain to you that drivers are not allowed to refuse any ride lest they should face fines.

How are you improving your service for passengers reserving taxis by phone?
Some 11 per cent of Dubai Taxi trips are running on telephone calls. We have plans to improve the taxi dispatch service since there has been immense pressure on the dispatch and distribution centre.

Currently, there are no rules for the callers. Now, we are working on plans to set up some rules and regulations for the callers as well.

Many times they call a taxi but do not wait for the taxi in case it gets stuck in traffic or gets delayed for any other reason. This is a loss for the driver and the company as well.

Also, a system is being put in place to allow all the franchise companies to start the "call a taxi" service.

What other steps are being taken to improve the taxi service?
We at the RTA consider taxis as the last point of in our mass transit plan. We expect less people to use their cars and even taxis once integrated public transport plan, including the Dubai Metro, public bus transport and marine transport is in place within a couple of years.