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152 safe and well-behaved taxi, bus drivers honoured in Sharjah

SHARJAH - In a bid to promote the culture of safe and convenient driving, Sharjah Transport recently honoured 152 cabbies, bus drivers and trainers for showing dedication and outstanding performance.

The list of honorees, affiliated to five franchise cab companies — Sharjah, Emirates, Union, Citi and Advantage taxis — as well as public bus, included honest and perfect drivers with zero traffic law violations for five 
consecutive years.

Director-General of Sharjah Transport Abdullah Al Zari said the ‘reward and encouragement policy’ adopted in the corporation is the main reason that helped hone drivers’ skills and improve their communication with the public.

“The Shukran (Thank You) programme launched this year makes well-behaving drivers eligible for annual financial rewards up to Dh100,000.

The black points recorded against them may also be erased,” he said. The honouring ceremony was held as part of the corporation’s second annual forum to encourage drivers to behave properly, curb traffic violations and complaints and boost customers’ satisfaction.

Assistant Director-General of Sharjah Transport Rahama Al Shamsi said the training courses drivers go through on a regular basis have had a positive effect on them. “A significant drop of 9.6 per cent in violations and 12 per cent in customers’ complaints has been noticed last year,” he said, adding that more training courses would be introduced soon.

In view of the quality controllers’ reports, drivers are rewarded, for example, for helping passengers to upload and download bags, dealing with commuters in a decent way, looking neat and clean, and giving priority to pedestrians. “Keeping the vehicle clean from inside and outside and smelling nice, as well as any other behaviour that reflects positively on the public is rewarded,” he said.

Head of Corporate Communication at the corporation Saeed Abdallah said the 25 lecture courses, being held on a regular basis, include theoretical and practical aspects to help drivers observe safe driving, produce a new generation of drivers more aware of road hazards and reduce traffic accidents and their dreadful impact on the 
society. “Sharjah Transport honoured 508 drivers last year for showing outstanding compliance with rules and clearing regular performance tests,” he said.

“Armed with a strict punitive code of 50 articles, staff quality controllers are monitoring the performance of staff drivers of the fleet of 5,614 taxis and 224 public buses,” Abdallah said.

ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.ae