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Car rental group’s protest is brushed aside by the DTC

DUBAI — Brushing aside protests from the Dubai Car Rental Group (DCRG), the Dubai Transport Corporation (DTC) has said it has been given regulatory powers over the vehicle rental industry for security reasons.

The DCRG has been given two months to get their cars registered with DTC which is an unfeasible and expensive feat, said the group, stating that it has been in operation for many years with major companies established in the emirate for more than 25 years.

"The industry caters to many millions of visitors to the country in a responsible and professional manner, and its contribution is acknowledged as a successful part of Dubai’s tourism growth. This decision may have a major effect on the working of the industry," said a spokesman of the group.

To get registered, rental companies with 101 to 500 cars will have to pay Dh4000; 501 to 1000 will pay Dh5000 and 1001and above will pay Dh6000 to DTC annually.

The DCRG said that DTC has also been empowered to train and approve drivers employed as chauffeurs despite the fact that the majority of operators provided more intensive all-round training than the DTC.

The DCRG agreed to the principle of some industry control on standards but said that the manner of implementation was proving to be difficult with little benefit to rental companies. Also under the system, the DCRG was being asked to cough up extra money annually to register their vehicles with the DTC.

"There are approximately 60,000 vehicles operating in Dubai. The additional charges paid to the taxi operator allowing rental companies to register cars will amount to Dh7,000,000 per annum and with further payments required for various other parts of the legislation, DTC could benefit up to Dh15,000,000," protested the DCRG management. "The rental operators get few benefits from this payment and it is the view of DCRG that the fee is little more than stealth tax on rental companies. For operators offering rental services on cars, chauffeur drive and buses, four separate licence approvals are required which is costly and unnecessary."

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Ammar bin Tamim, Director of the Administrative Affairs Department at DTC, however, said, "This decision was taken by the Ruler’s Court and Government of Dubai and cannot be challenged."

He said that under the system, all car rental offices would be linked electronically via a computer system to four government departments i.e., DTC, DTCM, Dubai Police and Dubai Municipality.

"Dubai Police will be handling the system. The DCRG are getting worked up for no reason as this same system is implemented in hotels as well. It is meant to streamline the working of the rental industry, and also basically for security purposes," said Bin Tamim.

"We think that the training required for a car rental business is very different to standard taxi company training. We also think that the corporation is not yet equipped to deal with this part of the requirement," said a DCRG management representative. "One operator recently tried to book his staff onto a course and he was advised by DTC that he could only send five chauffeurs at any time and only one day a week. An estimate suggests that there are at least 12,000 drivers employed by car rental companies, and at the current rate of approval, the task can never be completed."

"There are 800 car rental companies in Dubai and we charge Dh210 for their one-day training. This all depends on the person. We can also change the period of training from one to two days for their benefit,” said Bin Tamim.