UAE | Traffic and Transport

Sharjah residents say taxis unwilling to enter Dubai

Residents in Sharjah are finding it hard to persuade taxis to take them to Dubai and have urged the authorities concerned to address the issue at the earliest.

  • By Mariam M. Al Serkal, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:53 June 17, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • The taxi dispatch and management system is expected to function by next year and the call centre's number will follow shortly afterwards.
  • Image Credit: Gulf News Archive

Sharjah: Residents in Sharjah are finding it hard to persuade taxis to take them to Dubai and have urged the authorities concerned to address the issue at the earliest.

Residents said that it is a long time before the centralised call centre comes into effect in October 2009 but until then, a solution has to be found.

"I sometimes have to stand under the sun for an hour to find a taxi that is willing to take me to Deira, and the heat is unbearable," said Ziyad Mousa, a resident at Abu Shagara.

The taxi dispatch and management system is expected to function by next year and the call centre's number will follow shortly afterwards, according to Abdullah Al Zari, Director-General of Sharjah Public Transport Corporation.

"I have tried to book taxis over the phone but found it difficult because there was no direct line for bookings. And when I did get through, the taxis never showed up," said Basel Al Syed.

"Having a call centre will make finding a taxi a lot easier because right now I have to stand for at least half an hour before finding one. The majority of taxis passing by refuse to stop, and once the system is set up, we will get taxis quicker than before," said Sammar N.

Mohammad Al Haddad, managing director at Advantage Taxi, pointed out that there are currently four franchise taxi companies that provide more than 4,000 taxis, which are regulated by SPTC.

The companies are as follows: Advantage Taxi, Union Taxi, City Taxi and Emirates Taxi. The companies will be linked to the system, while an extra charge of Dh5, for booking a taxi over the phone, will be added to the total fee.

"We currently receive up to 9,000 calls ... and we expect the numbers to increase when the centralised call centre starts functioning," he said.

Customer complaint

To make a complaint Sharjah residents can call: 7000 6 7000

Do you think a complaint centre will help improve the taxi service? What are the major complaints you have with the transport service in Sharjah? Is the newly introduced bus service effective? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the form bellow to send your comments.


Your comments


I travel several times a year to the UAE, mostly I stay in Ajman. Because of traffic jams I understand taxi drivers who don't want to go from Ajman or Sharjah to Dubai. There should be an extra lane for taxis like in Germany.
Andy
Frankfurt,Germany
Posted: June 18, 2008, 14:15

Guys, chill out! I know we all want to blame the taxis for everything that happens but we must admit there are a lot of good taxi drivers who always are there to help, but life is difficult for them as well just as it is for you and me. Let's not always blame only the taxi driver for their attitude etc, everybody is struggling to make ends meet in this part of the world today. I must admit there are good taxi drivers around and there is also the not-so-good ones, and I am sure we sometime in our life do come across a good driver who is ready to go out of the way and willing to help. I have definitely come across a good driver once in a while, so let's also understand their problem. They too are just humans.
Pearl
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 18, 2008, 13:57

We have all vented out our frustration but there is another hidden side to the same coin. There is nobody to air the voice of the drivers who have to meet their set daily target. They are so frantically moving around to meet the target that a trip with a passenger from Sharjah to Dubai would leave them with no clients until their return to Sharjah. So we need a solution that is a 'solution' for both the cab drivers and the passengers.
Tina
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 18, 2008, 13:04

Getting a taxi to travel within Sharjah itself is a nightmare, so getting a taxi and convincing him to take a passenger to Dubai must be the most horrifying thing, especially in the morning when you have to get to work on time. I had to go to my son's school yesterday which is just about 10-15 minutes from my residence. It took me an hour and a half to reach there and I decided to keep the taxi waiting since I would never ever get a taxi back home. The cost which is otherwise Dh16 both ways or maximum Dh20 in a rare case. But yesterday I spent Dh63 to travel which was not only waste of money but also time. To my belief, having a call centre will not help at all as if one calls for a taxi the guy should be able to reach you in the first place as the traffic scenario is so bad that a call centre is not at all going to have any change with the issue of getting a taxi. So I would suggest to first ease the traffic, with maybe more lanes added, and also flyovers if possible. I know that there are many roads closed and the betterment of the roads is happening but until then hassle is all I can see for daily commuters.
Loraine
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: June 18, 2008, 12:55

I live in Sharjah. If I'm in Dubai, a taxi will not take me to Sharjah, if I'm in Sharjah they will not take me to Dubai. The majority of taxis don?t have rear seatbelts but have a sign in the front saying fasten your seatbelt! I also believe that most drivers could do with re-taking their driving test as they change lanes constantly causing others to swerve or break to avoid them. They stop their taxi on a main road so drivers behind them have to break suddenly or pull out into the next lane. I've had more close calls on the roads with taxi drivers than any one else. In my opinion they need to sort it out and soon!
Beki
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: June 18, 2008, 12:43

Some times the driver moves his hand impolitely as if saying 'get out of my sight', although he has nobody in his taxi.
Sanaa
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: June 18, 2008, 12:06

Many taxi drivers are very arrogant and not willing to go to many locations.
Kenny
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: June 18, 2008, 12:05

The taxi service in Sharjah is vey bad. As my car was at the service station and I needed to get to Dubai, the taxi driver refused to as soon as I informed him of my destination. And he was rude to me and made me get out of the taxi. I did lodge a complaint to Sharjah Transport, and gave them the details of the taxi. But I suppose no action has been taken...
S.A.
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: June 18, 2008, 11:30

Not only the complaint rule, the taxi rule must itself change. The taxi rule must be liberalised in picking passengers from all emirates.
P
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: June 18, 2008, 10:48

It is actually very annoying, beside the fact that Sharjah taxis don't want to go to Dubai, they also don't stop when waved at. It seems they are more keen to take passengers sharing from Sharjah to Ajman. If you tell them that we will complain they confidently tell you first you have to get through to the phone lines to make a complaint.
Jason
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: June 18, 2008, 10:01

The new call system is a good thing, but more than anything, the attitude of the taxi driver plays an important role. Most of them lack good behaviour. Not to deny there are a few genuine cabbies who go out of their way to help, but the majority of the Sharjah cabbies are very rude.
KSV
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: June 18, 2008, 09:57

I stay in Abu Dhabi, and I have faced problems where the taxi driver refuses to drop me from my house to my office which will be just ten minutes drive because they have to pick up school children. More so, some of them pre-fix the charge to Dh10 when actually it will come to only Dh4!
Sawmya
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: June 18, 2008, 09:31

The newly introduced bus service is good, but they have to mention the destination at the bus stop and on the buses. And the bus stop must be a proper place, not in the middle of the road.
Mujeeb
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: June 18, 2008, 09:24

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