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Fujairah cab drivers sore over poaching

FUJAIRAH — Fujairah residents suffer from a very disorganised public transport system. Taxi drivers quarrel with other drivers who smuggle passengers and violate public transport laws.

Drivers at the taxi stand have repeatedly complained to the Fujairah Municipality’s Traffic and Licensing Department that some of the taxis supposed to operate within the city had been ‘poaching’ passengers and taking them to other emirates without official permission.

The ‘poachers’ go to the extent of luring away passengers from the official taxi stand with lower tariff and faster services.

Ahmed Ali, a driver in the official taxi stand, said: “Rogue drivers are challenging the national drivers with unfair competition. We contacted the Fujairah Municipality in this regard, but the officials keep promising us without any action to protect us. We are facing an organised mafia, we want the municipality to prevent the taxi drivers who work within the boundaries of Fujairah from transporting passengers to other emirates, since they are taking away from us Dh15.” He added that only 50 drivers are officially allowed to do the job.

Mohammed Rabee, another taxi driver, called on the authorities concerned to take necessary action against the violators by seizing their vehicles and forcing their owners to pay fines as laid down by other emirates. An official in the Fujairah Municipality refused to comment on the issue, when asked by Khaleej Times. Major Ganim Ahmed Ganim from the Fujairah Traffic and Licensing Deparment said that the Traffic Department, in coordination with the Fujairah Municipality, would take strict measures against those who break the laws, and the offenders would be faced with tough punishments to be announced soon.