The Director General of the Taxi Transport Regulatory Center in Abu Dhabi, Khaled Al -Rashdi, revealed a new law to regulate the work of the “limousine” cars, pointing out that the center raised its proposals to the Department of Transport, that the competent authorities will soon adopt it.
He stated that the specifications of the “limousine” taxi will be highly luxurious, the qualifications of its driver and its skills are distinct, compared to taxi drivers.
He continued that the new law will not include companies working in the field of car rental, which is currently subject to the Department of Economics. But he expected the near future to witness a change in it.
He told «Emirates Today»: “We submitted proposals to the Transport Department that urges the benefit of retired citizens to work as“ limousine ”drivers, or citizens who want to work in this sector, to make limousine licenses privacy. Adding that “the tariff will not be equal, but will increase in” limousine “in a way that suits its well -being.”
Al -Rashdi added: “We are now in the development of legislation and the follow -up of the sector closely. We will later study the size of companies wishing to work, their numbers, capabilities and efficiency, and later the license will determine the number of limousine cars owned by each company, their affiliations, specifications and uses, according to their qualifications and expertise.
He pointed out that the Transport Regulatory Center is studying with the tourist and hotel agencies how to take advantage of the high -luxurious limousine services, according to the nature and needs of each side.
He stressed that the global financial crisis will not negatively affect the commitment of companies to supply their shares of new taxi cars, pointing out that each company has provided its full shares (1070 cars), but it was unable to operate only more than 200 cars, due to the lack of abundance of qualified drivers. He said that the Transport Regulatory Center is not concerned with global economic changes, adding that the terms of the contract concluded with companies clarify the numbers, specifications and the timeline for supply. Al -Rashdi pointed out that the number of taxi cars to enter the service reaches 10 thousand and 237 vehicles, from which more than 3,000 vehicles are currently operating.
Al -Rashdi stated that 1145 old vehicles have been withdrawn, owners obtained 1,000 dirhams per month, in exchange for the detention of the license. Old taxis will be pulled out with new cars entering service.
On the remarkable shortage of taxi services, despite the pumping of more than 3,000 new cars so far, he said that it is customary that taxi cars meet the needs of one in ten people, while taxis in Abu Dhabi serve all segments of society. But with other transportation, the taxi service will be devoted to its slide. He stressed that entering this stage will reflect positively by adjusting the tariff and attracting higher competencies than the drivers.
In response to critics about the insufficient number of companies licensed to run the taxi movement, Al -Rashdi replied that the numbers were identified with a methodology that depends on the philosophy of supply and demand and the need of the market, and sufficient knowledge to operate the fleet of taxi cars in Abu Dhabi in an economic concept.
He said: Each company granted a concession to run 1,000 new cars to achieve a good economic return. However, with the lack of qualified drivers, the entire fleet has not been operated, which affected the expected economic return on the applied tariff.
Regarding the presence of 1,300 cars running the tracking system and delaying access to the targeted sites, Al -Rashdi said that this service will be applied to all operating cars within two months. It will be among the requirements and specifications of new taxis.
He stated that there is a review of the transportation system within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and because of the development operations on the streets and roads, the taxi cannot reach its date.
He believed that the peak times and traffic congestion, and the lack of completion of the development operations caused the delay. He stated that the Communication Center of the Transport Regulatory Center was assigned to the Sert Technology Company of the College of Technology, pointing to monitoring the level of performance and following up the quality of complaints.
Commenting on the existence of frequent complaints about the wrong behaviors of taxi drivers, he said that companies operating in the taxi car sector are subject to their drivers before entering the labor market. After passing the appearance, oral, editorial, and definition tests in the sites and streets, it gives the license. There is a file for each driver with the beginning of work and specifications for the clothes he wears. With the performance monitoring, violations of dealing with passengers are recorded in the form of points, whether it may prevent the driver from renewing his annual license.
Al -Rashdi explained that the rental car companies did not reach the maximum operating energy due to the militancy in the tests of the qualified drivers’ tests, and the lack of granting licenses except for those who deserve. He said: «The companies offer their drivers in batches. With the granting of licenses, we offer a definition for drivers with laws, violations, and the method of electronic monitoring on operations, pointing out that the driver does not engage in the labor market until after his full knowledge of the conditions of control.
He pointed out that companies that do not have qualified programs for their drivers use the UAE driving company in order to provide a driver who does not fail to test.
He emphasized that home drivers are not allowed to work in taxi cars, pointing out that licenses are not granted to this group of drivers in order to preserve the privacy of families.
He said the development of public transportation will not negatively affect the nature of the use of the taxi in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, because the taxi service always comes in third place after public transport buses and trains.
Drivers test
The driver’s examination official at the Transport Regulatory Center, Mohamed Al -Rumaithi, said that the test standards lie in the general appearance and the driver’s knowledge of sites and streets in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, and his ability to communicate with the passenger, deal with money and plan the trip on the map.
He added that there are tests related to knowing the basics of the English and Arabic language and good behavior in the event of critical situations. After writing down the grades at each stage, the driver is granted a final evaluation that allows him to accept or not.
Tax tariff
The cost of opening the taxi counter in Abu Dhabi is 260 dirhams. 65 additional fils per kilometer and 312 dirhams are calculated for the meter slot at night, with the addition of 78 fils per kilometer.
It is calculated to wait for the passenger during the day for a period of less than 15 dirhams, up to 18 dirhams at night. As for the old taxis, the meter opening is two dirhams, 50 fils per kilometer, and 50 fils per six minutes.
