Sharjah: Eleven taxi drivers were fired this year and 40 others were under investigation because of recurring complaints about their behaviour, it was revealed on Wednesday.
"Once we receive complaints we automatically contact the franchise company to check the validity of the recurring complaints. As a result of our year-long investigation, we investigated taxi drivers and fired 11 of them," said Abdullah Zamzam, Head of the Quality Control Department at Sharjah Transport.
Zamzam said that his department was responsible for receiving complaints for all five franchise taxi drivers, in addition to the public buses.
The franchise companies collectively provide more than 4,500 taxis to the city, which include Advantage Taxi, Union Taxi, City Taxi, Emirates Taxi and Sharjah Taxi.
Important
In 2009, the number of calls on the hotline reached 5,465, which is 34 per cent less than in 2008, out of which 4,500 were complaints, 128 were suggestions, and 837 were related to lost and found items.
Mahmoud Al Hosni, spokesman for Sharjah Transport, said that the customer service department is keen to evaluate the conduct of drivers, which is assessed by the feedback from customers.
"It is very important to pinpoint the drivers' level of performance in order to provide the best possible transport service for passengers. And the conduct of drivers has to be strictly controlled in compliance with the regulations as set by Sharjah Transport," he said.
Al Hosni explained that drivers committed a total of 19,600 violations, which were pointed out to the Quality Control Department by the passengers.
The main ones were talking on mobile phones without a handset, bad hygiene, and the vehicle having a foul smell, he said. Other violations included not wearing company uniform, bad driving, rude behaviour and refusing to pick up passengers.
Top offences
Complaints regarding taxi drivers included:
- Body odour
- Driving and talking on their mobile phones without a handset
- Not driving properly
- Not complying with the company uniform
The Sharjah Transport hotline to register complaints is 7000 6 7000
Have you ever refused to take a taxi because the car had a bad odour? Do you think the action that was taken was fair? Post a comment by clicking on the ''Post a comment' link below.
