(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Talk of rolling out surprises. Dubai Taxi commuters saw them stuck to the dashboard and behind passenger seats of cabs announcing a hike in base fare from Dh10 to Dh12.
Officials said 8,921 taxi meters have already been updated. What's roiling commuters is that the decision to hike the fare comes shortly after the flag-down fares were hiked from Dh3 to Dh5, starting December 1. The meter upgrades began on December 7.
According to senior officials at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), all taxi corporations operating under the authority will follow the new tariff. The RTA, however, is still under the process of updating all meters of the cabs.
Dr Yousuf Ali, CEO of RTA's Public Transport Agency, said, "The project was supposed to be ongoing till December 22, but 8,921 of the 8,997 taxis in Dubai have updated meters. The remaining should be completed in a matter of a day or two, since they are in workshops undergoing repairs.
"This month, we are going to add 90 more cabs to the fleet and by January, another 90 will be added, totalling 180 new taxis."
About two weeks ago, the flag-down rates increased from Dh3 to Dh5, and the RTA also revised the basic charges for booking taxis. The non-peak hour booking now costs Dh8, up from Dh6, and peak hour booking costs Dh12, up from Dh10.
Yousuf Ali said: "One of the main reasons we've decided to hike the fare is to encourage taxi drivers to stop rejecting short fares. Drivers would reject short fares both on dispatch, and when they were flagged down. We want to change that trend. We would also like to encourage more people to use public transport as a means to commute in and around Dubai."
Yousuf Ali added that in comparison with several international cities like London, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, Dubai still has cheaper rates.
Khaleej Times caught up with some of the taxi drivers in Dubai, who said that there has been no monetary benefit to them with the hike. Z.A, taxi driver in Dubai, said on the condition of anonymity that the meters have been updated. "To make things more clear to passengers, signboards and stickers have been stuck to the dashboard and behind passenger seats of the cabs, announcing the hike and rates," he said.
Some of the residents in Dubai who were asked to comment on the fare rise said that they were not happy, especially since cabs used to be beneficial to travel short distances.
"Now I will stay away from using cabs to travel short distances," said Nadia Kareem, a student at University of Wollongong, Dubai. "After getting off the metro at Internet City, it is sometimes easier to catch a cab to Knowledge Village, instead of waiting of feeder buses. Now with the Dh2 hike, I am not going to bother with a taxi."
Andrew Maxwell, resident of Jumeirah Beach Residence, said: "I think it's a tad overpriced now. However, I'd still use a taxi if it were too late to travel using a bus or metro. Under such circumstances, I have no other choice."
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