DUBAI Some taxi drivers are charging passengers a Dh4 Salik fee even without passing through the toll gates, XPRESS has learnt.
The common ruse of cabbies taking service lanes along the toll gates is that their vehicles get “hit” even when not driving under the gate because of “powerful Salik sensors”.
“It [Salik charge] happened to me a number of times while taking a cab from the Mall of the Emirates,” said Nazia, an Al Barsha resident. “Each time the cabbie had the same explanation. They made it so convincing, I fell for it, ” she said.
Shyam, a 45-year-old Indian taxi driver, told an undercover XPRESS reporter the toll gate near the Holiday Inn service road in Barsha is “dangerous”. “Sometimes, I get hit by Salik on the service road, especially when my meter is engaged.”
Taxis used to charge Salik until December 2008. The toll fee for passengers was scrapped only to be introduced four years later on January 15, 2013.
Indian expat Bishu, 40, said he was charged Dh4 extra for Salik even without passing the gate when he hailed a taxi at Mazaya Centre near Al Safa toll gate.
A senior Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) official urged passengers not to pay more than what appears on the taxi meter.
“Drivers are not allowed to ask any extra toll fee other than what is on the taxi meter and printed on the customer receipt,” said Adel Shakri, Director of Transportation Systems at RTA’s Public Transport Agency.
“The customer should not pay any extra charge if they are taking the service road. Should this happen, the customer can lodge a complaint to RTA’s customer care (8009090), giving details of the driver’s ID and the taxi number mentioned on the receipt.”
He admitted receiving 29 complaints from passengers being overcharged for Salik. “If found that these passengers have paid more than what their bill states, we will reimburse them,” Shakri said in an e-mail response.
A random check run by XPRESS, however, found that neither private cars nor cabs get charged for Salik when taking the service road near the toll gates.
