Taxis targeting mostly tourists, say residents

DUBAI — Passengers in Dubai say that shortage of taxis in the emirate is due to the fact that most of them are stationed outside hotels and shopping malls, targeting tourist population only.

Asma Ali Zain

Published: Sat 10 Feb 2007, 9:29 AM

Last updated: Sun 5 Apr 2015, 2:27 AM

They also say that taxi drivers refuse to take passengers to crowded areas.

“Finding a taxi has become quite a task in Dubai. They are hardly seen on roads,” says Rosy Mathew.

“If I need a cab, I head to a shopping mall, but even there I see a long queue of people waiting to board taxis. Only recently, I witnessed a scuffle among people struggling to get on a waiting taxi first. It was something horrible to see. The authorities should do something to resolve this problem,” says Mathew who prefers to take a taxi to save time.

“Getting a taxi today takes so long that it is better to board a bus heading towards my destination,” she added.

Ammar bin Tamim, Director of Dubai Taxi at the Public Transport Agency (PTA), clarified that no fixed number of taxis was designated for shopping malls or hotels.

“There are only 100 taxis that we have stationed at hotels in Jumeirah area to serve the population in the new area of Dubai,” he said.

Commenting on the shortage of taxis, he said that the PTA had over 3,000 vehicles, including those from franchising companies. “These are enough vehicles for the city, but people still complain,” he added.

Never have I been able to find a taxi driver who agrees to take me to Karama in the evening. It takes a long time to board a bus, but it takes even longer time to get a taxi and polite drivers are, of course, a rarity, says Janice Roberts.

“I have to travel from Shaikh Zayed Road to Karama in the evening and I almost waste hours looking for an appropriate kind of transport. Several times, I walk half way to my destination. I think transport in Dubai is a major problem,” she added.

On the other hand taxi drivers say that if they get stuck in traffic jams, they end up losing passengers. “Traffic jams are tiring and getting stuck means that we lose potential customers,” says a taxi driver.

Other travellers also opine that most of the time, only 40 per cent of the total taxi fleet is operational, the remaining vehicles remain parked, hence the shortage. Tamim says: “All drivers should work in shifts.”