Dubai: A growing number of parents in Dubai are enlisting the Roads and Transport Authority’s exclusive taxi service for their children’s school run as an alternative to regular school buses.
Although, it comes at a cost, the safety and exclusivity of the ‘In-Safe Hands’ service launched by the RTA in mid-2011 has given it a positive edge over similar services.
“The service has received a good response since its launch, especially from some groups of the society who prefer exclusivity and safety,” said Ahmad Al Hammadi, Acting CEO of Dubai Taxi Corporation.
According to statistics provided by the RTA, so far around 256 students of various age groups have taken advantage of the service.
It is not just school pupils who have been taking advantage of the service.
“We have 75 taxis dedicated for this service, including pink taxis for ladies, special needs, and normal taxis and these taxis cater to different people, however, most of our customers are students,” added Al Hammadi.
Currently, the service registers 88 trips per day and more taxis will be added as and when demand rises.
“The number of taxis that we have right now is sufficient to operate the service and whenever there is high demand we can increase the capacity,” said Al Hammadi.
The service can be used through weekly, monthly and annual contracts at an initial booking cost of Dh200, while the regular meter starts at Dh25 from the origin and is charged at Dh1.71 per kilometre and the waiting charge is 50 fils per minute. For a trip to Sharjah an additional Dh20 is added to the fare.
Mainly intended for working women, students and families, who travel daily on a fixed route, the services has taxis pick customers up at a fixed point, at a fixed time daily.
Applications for the service can be processed through the RTA’s customer service centre at Dubai Airport Terminal 3.
