Dubai: Commuters expressed mixed reactions about the increase in the taxi tariff as of January 21.
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced there will be an increase in taxi tariff by 11 fils.
"The current taxi tariff of Dh1.6 per km has been increased to Dh1.71 per km. This increase does not apply to meter starting tariff," said Eisa Abdul Rahman Al Dossary, CEO of Public Transport Agency. Although Al Dossary stressed that this step was not intended to generate additional profit either for RTA or the five taxi franchise companies operating in Dubai, but rather an effort to offset rising fuel prices, commuters had a different opinion.
Rana Monzer, a Palestinian executive who commutes by taxi from her International City apartment to her office on Shaikh Zayed Road, said the increase is not justifiable.
"Petrol prices were increased by 20 fils per litre in July, which means for a car that runs 10km/litre, this is an increase of 2fils/km, not 11," she said, adding that she will continue to use taxis because she works irregular hours and has no other option.
Liezel Agcaoili, a Filipina office manager of a financial company said the daily trip from her home in Deira to her office in Downtown Burj area and back would cost around Dh60.
"I carpool with a former colleague and pay him Dh150 per month to cover some of the fuel cost, and it works fine because we have similar timings," Liezel said.
"When I want to go out with my friends in the evening, we usually share a taxi and three or four of us share the fare, otherwise it would be very expensive," she said.
Majd Al Qaed, a 27-year-old Syrian who works in the stock market, said he used to commute back and forth from his home in Discovery Gardens to his office in Downtown Burj until he bought a car recently.
"I used to pay around Dh120 daily for the trip, which is very expensive, and the rate is even higher during the night," he said.
"I used to pay around Dh2,000 for taxis just for work-related trips. I found that the monthly car instalment plus all expenses such as registration, insurance, service, Salik, petrol and parking work out almost equal to what I paid for taxis, which makes taxi a very expensive way to travel," he said.
Have your say
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