Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) - in collaboration with the Tourist Security Department at Dubai Police General HQ and Naturalisation, Residency Attorney Office at Naturalisation and Residency Department in Dubai - will impose more stringent penalties against unlicensed taxi drivers.
The action was decided following site tours made last year by a team of inspectors from Franchise and Enforcement Department at RTA to track down this phenomenon and refer the accused to the competent bodies.
Jawad Sajwani, Director of Franchise and Enforcement at RTA, said that 13 individuals have been deported after being referred to the Office of the UAE Attorney General last year and found guilty of driving taxis illegally and engaging in other professions without the knowledge of their sponsors. They were also ordered to pay fines as stipulated in RTA internal regulations - 5,000 dirham in the first occurrence and 10,000 dirham for a repeated infraction.
“This phenomenon inflicts material losses on private franchise companies providing taxi service, and also slanders the corporate standing of the RTA as a service provider seeking to deliver the best services conforming to the latest methods and best practices worldwide,'' said Sajwani.
“The joint crackdown campaigns launched in association with the concerned bodies resulted in taking deterrent measures against offenders, higher levels of compliance on the part of the general public as well as offenders, and more respect to inspectors, thanks to the cooperation of policemen with the inspectors of the Agency. It was noticeable during the campaign that the explicit and conventional methods of illegal transportation have gradually disappeared and the public refrained from assembling at the places where that phenomenon was rampant,'' he said.
