UAE | Traffic and Transport

Falling revenues behind Sharjah taxi tariff hike

Decline in passenger numbers dents profits, officials say

  • By Mariam M. Al Serkal, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 00:00 February 18, 2010
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Gulf News archive
  • A 12-year-old boy is in a critical condition after being hit by a taxi while crossing a road in the Al Majaz area in Sharjah, an official at Sharjah police said. Picture for illustrative purposes only.

Sharjah: Falling revenues and a decline in passenger numbers are the real reasons behind the increase in taxi fares, Sharjah Transport officials revealed yesterday.

The officials said the move to increase tariffs by almost 25 per cent was taken to mitigate the loss of income by franchise companies.

Starting this month, tariff rates increased to Dh1 for every 650 metres, up from Dh1 for every 800 metres.

For example, a trip that usually cost Dh15 will now cost Dh21 on average.

Mahmoud Al Hosni, the spokesman for Sharjah Transport, said the tariff hike was made at the request of the franchise companies.

The last tariff increase by Sharjah taxis was adopted two years ago when the base fare rose from Dh2.50 to Dh3.

Al Hosni said the tariff increase was part of an ongoing evaluation of services in the emirate.

"Most of the bus routes have been completed and since there are more alternatives in the public transport system, this led to a decline in [the] demand for taxis.

"This caused taxi drivers to earn less income and had then become a burden on the franchise companies," Al Hosni said.

"In order to enhance the services of taxis, Sharjah Transport decided that [the solution] would be to increase the tariffs. This will in turn reduce the number of passengers but by doing so, we will also be helping residents and the environment by reducing traffic congestion."

Ahmad Muazu, a Sharjah resident, said that the new tariff rate was unfair as it meant that his expenses would increase.

"A trip to Dubai and back will be more than Dh150, and I can't afford this everyday. Now I am more determined than ever to get a driver's licence and buy my own car because it will be cheaper than paying [for] taxis on a daily basis," he said.

Have your say
What do you think of this price increase? How will it affect your daily commute? Will you try and find alternatives. Tell us.

Comments (9)

  1. Added 13:47 February 18, 2010

    I live in Sharjah and everyday im taking a cab on my way to work. It will be ''bad news'' for me if this tarrifs continues. Hope there would be more buses to run around Sharjah, especially Al Khan area.

    Millet, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

  2. Added 12:43 February 18, 2010

    Passengers choose to take bus or walk because taking taxi is expensive. And because of the decline in passengers, they will increase the fare rate again? Very logical! And they say that it is okay because it will be good for the environment and traffic congestion will be less. Less passengers does not equate to less taxi on the street but less taxi with passenger. It also means more operation cost and less profit for the company. Rather than increasing the rate, they should have trimmed the number of taxi on the street.

    Jamie, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

  3. Added 11:22 February 18, 2010

    Why can't the Taxi firms work like any other business has to? If they have too many taxis then they should downsize or even reduce the cost to increase use and make it more attractive as a transport option. All this will do is reduce taxi journeys further which is great for me as it will decongest the roads so I can drive around easier. Thank you Sharjah transport.

    Anonymous, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

  4. Added 10:40 February 18, 2010

    Yeah, the tariffs have been raised, "wat to do"??? But, the least the authorities could do is to let the customers be aware!!! Coz one day the route is 7.5 dhms, then the next day "voila" its 12dhms. actually the first time i noticed this change in tariffs I thought the taxi driver had tampered with his metre and he was cheating me.

    Anonymous, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

  5. Added 10:05 February 18, 2010

    Because of the stubborness of the taxi company, they finally feel the pain and the result was as expected. You don't need rocket science for this one. There are several bad reasons why the revenue has fallen. Bad service, rude taxi drivers, bad taxi fare, bad hygiene, bad management, etc. Well I can tell because I work for a revenue management department and where you have to do lots of analysis first to create extra revenue, before take it into action.

    Faisal, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

  6. Added 08:34 February 18, 2010

    All i can say is abolsutely senseless desicion. When one goes into loss, nobody hikes the prices. I guess the Sharjah Transport Officials are trying to do something which will put them into more losses. Definitely people at this stage would go for sharing taxis, even go upto the extent of hiring an illegal taxi. I don't find any point behind the increase. Many of the drivers hardly know the routes, the taxis aren't hygienic & sitting inside some of the taxis is unbearable because of the bad odour.

    Sanish Cherian, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

  7. Added 02:45 February 18, 2010

    this is not fair to the public. instead it may go on loss which may occur in future, loss of 15% revenue. well i am from fujairah i have my relatives their and every 2 months i visit there and usually i took taxi to get out of the traffic problem. so if u really want to make it up then none of the passenger they will go for your taxi instead they will look for bus which is cheaper than taxi. suppose you are earning 10 per day if its then you will earn 3 per day which comes a vast difference of 7 thats the loss. well hope you will look for the public and make a better way to serve them. public here come to earn they will look to save the money so please check it out and think about it.

    Sushil, Fujairah, United Arab Emirates

  8. Added 01:22 February 18, 2010

    I think what led to this as well is the attitude of the Taxi drivers in Sharjah as if the customer was responsible for the traffic in the city. Of course the revenues will drop when taxi drivers refuse to stop or to drop a customer if he does not want to go to a certain destination. It has become so stressful over the years that most people prefer to get their own cars or move to live in Dubai. Different measures should have been taken earlier but the increase at this time might not seem the reasonable solution.

    Walid, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

  9. Added 00:41 February 18, 2010

    now the people get realised to buy a car is cheaper then more car will be on the road - what is next, authorities will impose road tax to encourage to use public transport. People expect long term solution without burden on residence, increasing fare is not going help to reduce traffic on the road. it will create another alternative for people. goverment or responsible organisation should take more cautious on the problem.

    Anonymous, Doha, Qatar

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