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Shortage of taxis kills the joy of festival

DUBAI — People, out to enjoy the Eid holidays, complained that the shortage of taxis has put a dampener on the festive mood.

Several families heading for parks said on the first day of Eid on Friday that unavailability of taxis had upset their plans.

Officials from the Dubai Taxi Department of Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said that they could not buy vehicles overnight to increase the number of taxis and end the woes of the people. Officials, however, said that they were working on a phased plan to overcome the persistent problem.

“We are not operating any extra number of vehicles on the roads for Eid because we have a certain limit. The taxis will, however, ply on the roads as usual without a break for the comfort of the passengers,” said a senior RTA official.

Talking about plans to improve the taxi department, the official said the work hours of taxi drivers will be reduced from 24 to 12 hours at a stretch. “This means that drivers will be available all throughout the day unlike earlier when they chose to drive according to their own schedules. This will improve the situation,” he added.

The work hours of 830 vehicles have been reset to meet the demand for taxis during the rush hours in the morning. “These taxis will now ply from 6am to 10am. They will be monitored on a daily basis to ensure their commitment to work during these hours,” he said.

The official also said taxi stations with a capacity of five to 30 parking spaces are being constructed at 38 locations near shopping malls and large residential areas in the emirate.

But these are for the future. The holidaymakers on the road on Friday and yesterday were livid.

“We had planned a picnic. I had packed food in picnic hampers and we were all ready. But we had to wait for an hour before a taxi driver agreed to take us to the park,” said Mahnoor S, a Sudanese national.

“My children got tired and bored by the time and started complaining. I thought that since it is Eid, the authorities would have made plans to increase the number of taxis or adjust the work hours somehow to accommodate the expected rush,” she added.

Fazal Khan, a Pakistani national, who also planned a day out with his extended family described the “torture” of having to wait endlessly for a taxi. “My parents are on a visit for Eid this year. We had made extensive plans to enjoy the holidays. Getting a taxi was the most difficult part,” he said.

Eight members of his family waited for two hours before they were able to get a taxi.