UAE | Traffic and Transport

Dh20 starting fare to Sharjah

Taking a taxi from Dubai to the Northern Emirates has become costlier as the starting fare has been set at Dh20 with immediate effect, Gulf News has learnt.

  • By Ashfaq Ahmed, Chief Reporter
  • Published: 23:00 April 5, 2009
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Gulf News archive
  • According to RTA, the starting fare has been increased as an incentive to drivers who often refuse to take passengers.

Dubai: Taking a taxi from Dubai to the Northern Emirates has become costlier as the starting fare has been set at Dh20 with immediate effect, Gulf News has learnt.

"The starting fare of Dh20 is not just from Dubai to Sharjah, it is applicable on trips from Dubai to other Northern Emirates including Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah," said a senior official at the RTA. However, he said there is no change of starting fare for passengers travelling to Abu Dhabi, Hatta, Al Ain and Fujairah.

The Dubai move reciprocates a similar measure by Sharjah Transport Corporation which set the starting taxi fare at Dh20 on December 1 for passengers travelling from Sharjah to Dubai.

According to the RTA official, the starting fare has been increased as an incentive to taxi drivers who often refuse to take passengers from Dubai to Sharjah and vice-versa with the excuse that inter-emirates trips waste their time due to heavy traffic and badly affect their daily income targets. They said that it took at least a couple of hours for a round trip and sometimes they earn only Dh20 to Dh30.

They also lose money because of an old rule that does not allow a taxi driver from one emirate to pick passengers from another emirate. For example, if a Dubai-registered taxi takes a passenger to Sharjah, it returns empty and a similar rule applies to taxis registered in other emirates.

The RTA has also introduced a minimum fare of Dh10 for passengers travelling within Dubai. The new fare structure was introduced on March 31.

Though a senior RTA official denied this move and said that it would be done later, Gulf News took the taxi for short trips and ended up paying Dh10 even when the fare on the metre was just Dh7. What bothered commuters is the RTA's failure to announce the new fare structure as the commuters were taken aback with sudden fare increase.

"It is not fair to increase fare when traffic has eased up in Dubai due to the improved road network," said Mohammad Omar, a Sharjah resident who works in Dubai. He said that travelling time between Dubai and Sharjah has also eased because of the improvement of Al Ittihad Road - the main highway linking Dubai with Sharjah.

"I think the authorities should revise their decision because it would discourage people from using taxis and more people will end up buying private cars," he added.

Check first: Pay by meter

A passenger should not pay additional Dh20 if a taxi meter does not show this fare, said an RTA official.

"We have around 7,500 taxis on the road and it would take at least two to three weeks to alter all the taxi meters for the new fares. More than 1,000 taxi meters have already been altered. A passenger should pay the additional Dh20 fare if it appears on the taxi meter," explained the RTA official.

Do you think this is a fair starting price? Would you still use taxis? Will this encourage better service?

Your comments


I think that RTA forgot that many of the commuters are the low salaried employees who cannot afford to have own car.
Maya
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 14:30

I don't think that the raise in fare is fair at all, especially when the passenger has to pay Dh10, even when the meter is 6 or 7.
Collin
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 14:19

The caption on the picture above states that "According to the RTA, the starting (taxi) fare has been increased as an incentive to drivers who often refuse to take passengers." I find it weird for the RTA to "reward" their drivers for refusing taxi passengers! I thought the RTA's main concern is the plight of the riding public. From the look of it, more taxi drivers will become abusive.
Jing
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 14:08

RTA must think and study the impact of these new fees to the public cummuters before implementing such rules. Public people suffers just to compensate the taxi companies/driver which is a shame...
Jimmy Boy
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 13:49

It is really unfair RTA should rethink agian
Abdul Salam Tahanur
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 13:31

I don't think it is a good idea to increase the fares. Firstly one waits for so long to get a cab and then pay more on top of that. Is RTA ensuring that we don't use public transport? Completely unfair for the public. Unfortunately no one is hearing our voice either.
Ritu Patel
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 13:16

By this decision I don't think the problem can be solved. Why can't RTA think about restricting the registration of new taxies, as already we apparently have more than 7500 taxies on road in Dubai. For solving the problem, the Taxi Companies should be ready to revise the salary of Drivers and reduce the daily target in an affordable manner.
Vinod Vakkom
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 12:52

Thanks for increasing. From now on I will start jogging from Dubai to Sharjah.
Lallu Kimran
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 12:49

This is horrible! Totally unfair
Shani Khan
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 12:47

RTA should rather focus on restructuring a better incentive scheme for Taxi Drivers and not by increasing the fare for the public. If the idea was to encourage drivers taking passengers between the emirates then why a minimum standard of Dhs 10/- within the Emirates - i.e Dubai ??
Gulneet
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 12:42

In addition to the above rules there is apparently somethuing else saying that passeneger have to pay 50 fils per minute as waiting charge. Its applicable if the taxi stuck up in traffic or signals even. Yesterday i had to pay 22 dhs to a place where normally i go by paying 13 Dhs. Since i was not aware of this rule i really got upset.
Anna
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 12:17

I never take a taxi, as I have a car. But I don't think the extra fare is expensive. Back home in Europe taking a taxi a short distance can cost you well over 100 dirhams. But people there rarely use taxies, as bus routes are well organised and they don't have to wait for hours for a bus. I think the RTA should have considered improving public transport before implementing this extra charge.
Nadia Hussain Al Kabani
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 12:01

For me it is not fair to increase the minimum rate of taxi fare from 3.50 to 10.00 that is unreasonable because we are tightening our budget. RTA should at least cooperate with us. Taxis are commonly used by ordinary people so the rate should be reasonable.
Eden
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 11:58

This is too expensive. No way to pay for taxi's fare as I can't afford it. This is better to finance a car.
Amir
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 11:57

10 AED minimum fare is too high. Now i am paying 40 aed from al barsha to deira. if it is starting from 10, then i have to pay 50 aed. it will badly effect all the people in dubai.
Shaby
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 11:57

I dont think its fair to charge 20 dhs now because the traffic nowadays has eased out and i dont think so later also it would not be a problem due to solutions and later metro trains coming into it.for the time being extra 5 dhs is ok but not 20 dhs its too much
Clifton Lobo
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 11:36

No from the start the proposal of the 10dhs starting price within dubai is not fair, No i dont have plans to taking taxi anymore, better service? no. it wil not encourage better service by increasing the price
Mariel
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 11:28

This is very unfair rise for most venerable poor and low paid people in UAE, because they are in need for taxi service as bus transport is not easy or accessible for most of them. By considering all fact this new fare should be revised immediately.
Maruf
Stockholm,Sweden
Posted: April 06, 2009, 11:23

I feel it is not good to increase the taxi price. Now a days fuel cost also is less, so it is not a reasonable increase in taxi fare. It will affect the people who are regularly travelling by taxi.
Satish Nair
Al Quoz,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 11:23

Its really upseting to see that fare for travelling within Dubai has become more expensive, as it is the cost of living in dubai, and now taxi fare has gone more up.
Rasheeda
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 10:13

I don't think this is fair or logical. I have a car; I don't care if the taxi fare will start at even Dh50. But what about those who wait on the street every morning to get a taxi? and many of them they get lower salaries! Did the authorities think of those people when they took this decision? I can't absorb this idea; it's just unfair for all. Yeah; we have buses in Dubai and those people can use buses. Let me give a comment here; I think buses are the most vehicles causing traffic in Dubai; they move from right side to left side without caring about coming cars (and vice versa) am not asking to stop buses; but at least to let good drivers drive them.
Ala'a Hanbali
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 10:08

It's not at all fair. RTA is making their own passengers angry.
Sharif
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 09:52

I dont think this will be of any use, as a traveller from dubai to sharjah on a daily basis i think people will end up using taxis as the new fares are already making us pay 30 - 40 % of our salaries in the taxi fare.
From A Reader
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 09:52

I think will do out with this taxi issues it's expensive and we cannot afford with our salaries.
Ma
Ajman,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 09:45

A lot of the people in Dubai can not afford this fare from Dubai to other Emirates. For short trip people will prefer to walk. RTA also needs to change the behaviour and rough driving of taxi drivers.
Abrar
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 09:35

I think this will be unfair to us commuters. We try our best to save on other things but end up wasting our money paying on the taxi fare. RTA should be more considerate on the commuters as well.
Catherine Grace
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 09:34

The whole idea behind the move is to meet daily average targets for taxi drivers. yes there has been a problem of taxi drivers refusing to carry people to other emirates, however, increasing the fare is a short sited solution. the community will not get benefited. Not all solutions are governed by increasing fares.
Kshitiz
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 09:33

RTA must find ways to encourage people to use public transport. This decision does not make any sense at all.
Ejaz
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 09:28

I think this will reduce 70% of the taxi usage, and the waiting time in the que for a bus which was 45mins will surely increase by 60% at least.
Pradeep
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 09:27

This is not at all fair for any of the commuters. I would prefer taking a public bus or in future, buy a second-hand car. This will not only increase the plight of the taxi drivers, but also reduce its customer base drastically with the introduction of new buses and the soon to be launched Metro Rails. Besides, the cancellation of the 10-minute waiting time in the taxi will make all the taxi drivers take the traffic prone routes, further discouraging the customers to use the taxis.
Kinjal Acharya
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 09:25

Can you please tell us what is the distance of your minimum Dh10? Because it doesnt make sense that the short trips will pay you Dh10 even if you are only paying before of Dh7. For two straight days I notice that I pay more than the normal fare I pay from Muraqabat Road to Cargo Village that only range from Dh8.50- to Dh9 only. But now, I am paying 13.50, where is the minimum here. Also we noted that since its traffic - the waiting time is already running maybe that's the reason why my fare is getting higher. Please clarify to us the minimum.
Dimple
Mindanao,Philippines
Posted: April 06, 2009, 09:23

This is not a fair starting price. I will try maximum not to use taxis. this will keep people apart from regular use of taxis.
Ilyas
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 09:13

I live in Sharjah and work in Dubai, i don't think it's fair to pay additional Dh20 for taxi fares from Dubai-Sharjah and vice versa. And now, you are saying we have a minimum of Dh10 fare again? Come on be reasonable! Why we commuters are suffering a lot? Its not our fault if these drivers are not getting their daily quotas.
Dianne
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 09:12

I took a taxi from Uptown Mirdif to Media City with plenty of traffic, my fare cost over Dh95 for one way. The taxis already cost plenty, this fare hike is fair for the taxi companies, not the people taking the taxi. Retail stores will lose, with spending more on taxis there will be less extra spending money in pocket, ouch!!
Precious Schulze
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 09:09

I think no poor man will use the taxi
Shaji
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 08:48

These rules are not good. Especially they erase the hired time in the meter. If the taxi is on a traffic signal the meter goes direct to waiting which is too costly for us in traffic areas and the Dh20 start for sharjah? what we can say.....
Kamran
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 08:42

I used to commute everyday day from my house to the bus stop and vice versa. But after this new starting fare of Dh10, I will be thinking of alternative means of travelling. This will certainly discourage a lot of people in using the taxi.
Zafar Shaikh
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 08:37

It is very unfair to go ahead and implement such a regulation when I think the RTA doesn't have a clear justification as to why it is planning or has planned on increasing the fare flagdown on all taxis travelling within Dubai. Isn't a Dh4 to Dh10 increase a little too much?
Tea
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 08:30

Its really not fair! At a time when every penny matters, its really not a wise thing to do. People are struggling to meet both the ends and I cannot think of spending 60 - 80 Dhs to go back home. I think the RTA should re-consider this.
Eunice
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 08:15

We are living here in Sharjah. We don't have car and my children's school is in Dubai, the school did not provide them school bus and our work is in Dubai, using taxi everyday is very costly for us, we are sufferring too much for the taxi fare, coming and going to school. Per trip costs us 60 to 70dhs, if traffic, it is more there's no transportation. Only you have to go to Rola to reach Dubai which is very far from us. Increasing taxi fare i think is not the right time.
Emmie
sharjah,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 08:01

The RTA is tolerating the taxi drivers. It's unfair for everybody to be charge 20AED. I think what we need is a new law for taxi driver and a passenger.
Suresh
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 07:58

Well i drive my own car so it really doesn't bother me. But i feel it is absolutely unfair for the people using this service. Authorities on one hand are trying to encourage commuters in using public transport and on the other hand they're making it extremely unreasonable on their pockets. yes it is unfair on both, the taxi driver and the commuter.
Amit Prashar
Sharjah,India
Posted: April 06, 2009, 07:50

this is another blow to the commuters, this will not improve anything. people are so used to being late now that they won't mind travelling on buses now or even walk. I do not know where we are getting the news from that traffic has eased up, no it has not, it still takes 2 hours from dubai to sharjah during peak hours.
Bilal
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 07:48

I agree with the Dh20 flag down rate of taxis traveling to inter-emirates. It is now easier to get a taxi from Dubai to Sharjah or vice versa when taxi drivers know the meter starts at Dh20. It is just fair knowing there is too much traffic or they will return empty. The minimum fare of Dh10 within Dubai, however, is totally outrageous. When Dubai Metro operates, no one will use the taxis anymore.
Marby
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 07:46

i will now reduce my outings further to avoid using taxis they were already a pain now they are double the pain sit home and save the money for a rainy day.
Punam
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 07:41

Its not fair. The authorities are encouraging the public to use the public transport like buses instead of buying cars so if the increase the taxi fare than people would prefer buying cars instead of shelling out so much money on each taxi trip
Naaz
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 07:36

Taxi fares are already high and now paying 10 dhs more is only worsening the problem. People are already facing problems. This move will only discourage people to use taxis. Taxi fares should have been reduced instead, so that more and more people can use it. I will certainly opt for RTA buses instead. Just hoping that bus ticket doesn't change.
Kavita
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 07:06

Just the other day there was an article about how minimum fees are charged for short distances. Now there are minimum fees for long distances as well?
Jason
Dubai,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 07:00

There is absolutely no need to increase the fares for passengers travelling from Dxb to Shj and vice versa. The ultimate sufferers are the passengers. always try to give customer satisfaction and this has to be the ultimate aim of any taxi service. I think this decision to increase the fares is a wrong decision
Ranjith
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 07:00

I took a taxi from Dubai airport to Sharjah and cost me triple what I normally pay Dh65 and normally costs me between Dh15 -25. because now you start with Dh20 from the airport plus interring sharjah dh20 plus the fair.
From A Reader
,Poland
Posted: April 06, 2009, 06:49

I guess Dh20 is on the expensive side, Dh10 should be fine. While fares are increasing for the benefit of the driver, we are forced to accept it. However, they do make their share of money by asking for 2 Sailks (onwards and return) Sharjah to Dubai and back. if we ask why? or refuse to pay then they inturn refuse to take us. Even though the fares have increased, we still have a problem in getting a taxi. I hope things get better.
Jacqueline
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 06:40

It's going to be a severe blow for the taxi drivers after the introduction of such new steps during this time. People will look to different means of transport like buses.
Sanish C
Kingston Upon Thames,United Kingdom
Posted: April 06, 2009, 05:34

This is a joke! "An incentive for drivers who refuse to take passengers"? In New York City, it is illegal for a taxi driver to refuse a passenger so long as he is on duty. If he does, the passenger can have the driver suspended from work. Why not something like that for the UAE?
Saad Zaman
Ajman,UAE
Posted: April 06, 2009, 01:17

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