Property | General
Taxi driver shares Dubai experience
JK, a 31-year old Bangladeshi taxi driver, takes time off from his hectic schedule to share his experience in the city.
- By Iona Stanley, Freelance Writer
- Published: 10:54 November 24, 2008
- Image Credit: Supplied
- JK, a 31-year old Bangladeshi taxi driver, takes time off from his hectic schedule to share his experience in the city.
JK, a 31-year old Bangladeshi taxi driver, takes time off from his hectic schedule to share his experience in the city.
JK has a bachelor's degree in commerce and speaks fluent English, Hindi and Bengali, apart from a smattering of Arabic. He has a few school friends who live near him in the same Dubai neighbourhood, he watches movies with them once a month, and is valiantly trying to finish The Secret, a book he started reading three months ago.
He works for 12 hours everyday including weekends, and makes enough money to support a fairly large family — members include his wife, a younger brother and two younger sisters, parents and two aged aunts — who reside in his ‘native place', as he refers to the city of Dhaka.
‘Money is fine'
His income differs from month to month, based on a combination of the hours of work he puts in, the hours he loses due to various reasons, his partner's contribution, and the number of levies imposed on what he thinks he has rightfully earned.
When he says he makes ‘enough money', he is calculating the average monthly income he has earned over the last 12 months, and it stands at a fairly decent Dh7,000.
His proudest moment was when he totalled Dh11,000 in October, and in his own words: “It was like winning a secret competition. None of my colleagues have made that kind of money before, but I didn't really want to tell them, because some of them would feel jealous of me or resent my hard work. So my success story remains my secret pride.''
JK is a taxi driver with Dubai Taxi, and is an employee of RTA. He lives in accommodation provided to him and his colleagues by the company at a camp in Sonapur. He is not a typical taxi driver for sure, but he certainly is an atypical resident of Dubai.
He says he is content for 182 days of the year, and miserable for the other 182. Here is what makes, mars, and marks his fluctuating levels of happiness, and here is a look at how this unusual resident of Dubai lives his life:
“I stay in a three-storey building, with approximately 50 flats on every floor. There are five other buildings around us that are also taxi drivers' quarters like ours, but I think ours' is the nicest. It is best described as a boarding house set-up.
Bad approach roads
“The accommodation they provide us is great, but the authorities really have not done too much about the approach roads. Someone must take some time out to understand our situation and sort out our problems.
“We drive our taxi to our apartment, and we are expected to look after our vehicle when it is in our care. How can we do that if we have to drive through long stretches of gravel, mud and unpaved roads on the way to our apartment?
“We have to pay fines if our vehicles are not maintained in peak condition, and if we ourselves (taxi drivers) are not groomed to the company's regulations. How can I keep my car safe and my shoes clean if these are the conditions I have to endure day after day?
“Inside the apartment that I share with three of my colleagues, including my partner, we have basic furniture like beds, chairs, cupboards provided free of cost. The company also pays the water, electricity and AC bills for us.
The four of us have pooled together some money and purchased a second hand TV which did not cost much – only about Dh300. There is satellite TV as well, but a limited number of channels.
“The company charges us Dh400 every month as rent to live here. That is fair enough, especially because rents elsewhere in Dubai are so steep.
Expensive lunches
“It is the money we spend on food that is killing us. Since the four of us are on the road — we share two taxis on shifts of 12 hours each — at different times of the day or night, we cannot prepare meals at home because most of it would go to waste. According to our rules, we are not supposed to have any of our personal belongings in the taxi with us when we are on duty.
“This means that there is simply no question of carrying a small snack box or even a small bottle of fruit juice when we are out driving on the roads for long stretches of time.
“We either stay hungry for very long spells of time, or else, we spend money that we cannot really afford to, and eat out at a restaurant when the hunger gets too much. Cooking our food at home would have been a lot cheaper.
“But the blessing is that we have the Lulu Village complex (in Muhaisnah) located quite close by, and their prices are very reasonable. When we are at home, at least one of us can step out and buy some food without having to drive for too long.
“My partner and I work in alternate 12-hour shifts. This means that after I have driven around Dubai for half a day, I have to rush back to Sonapur to ensure that my partner gets the car in time to start the next shift.
Hectic shift duties
“Since my partner lives in the same apartment and because he is someone I have known since my school days, we have a very good working relationship. Some of our other colleagues are not so lucky. It is not uncommon to hear loud arguments and squabbles between ‘partners' in various parts of our accommodation quarters.
“But the other side of the coin is that we don't have to worry about Dubai Municipality's housing fees, nasty landlords, increasing rents, steep DEWA bills and the traumas that afflict Dubai's other residents. I think in return, we can afford to hear a few arguments now and then.
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