Pay Dubai Taxi fare by Nol or credit card from January

Dubai: Customers of Dubai Taxi cabs will be able to pay their fare by the Nol public transport card from January 2014 onwards, an official said.

Abdullah Al Madani, CEO of the Corporate Technical Support Services Sector of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said they will also be able to pay by credit card.

Currently, taxi customers can only pay by cash, which means they must carry acceptable currency and change.

Nol cards are RTA-issued smart cards that can be topped up with credit to pay for public transport such as water buses, Dubai Metro, and public buses. They can also be used to pay for parking.

Al Madani said customers will also be able to pay fares with smart phones that support the Near Field Communication (NFC) technology used in mobile payment services.

The development was announced during the Gitex technology fair in Dubai, which is seeing participation from the RTA and several other government entities.

Dubai Taxi Corporation, a part of RTA, operates about 3,800 cabs. Other taxi operators are expected to follow suit in phases, added Ahmad Hasem Bahrozyan, CEO of the RTA’s Licensing Agency.

“Dubai Taxi is usually the pioneer in implementing the latest technology. There are almost 9,000 taxis in Dubai, I expect other taxi services will have their own roll out plan regarding this,” Bahrozyan said.

The fare will be deducted from the balance of the Nol card or account of the NFC-enabled smart phone user, when the card or phone is place on a sensor reader in the taxi.

Credit card payments will work in the same way as usual retail payments, with an option to add any tip for the taxi driver.

Al Madani said the total number of Nol cards produced since the operation of the Dubai Metro in September 2009, has reached nearly five million. Meanwhile, the number of daily operations for the Nol card is estimated at more than 1,500,000, including the entry and exit of passengers from metro stations, buses, parking payments and card recharges.