New taxi fleet expected to fill high demand in Sharjah

Dubai: A fleet of 55 new orange and blue public taxis left the stands in Sharjah on Monday.

This the first batch of 800 taxis that have been launched by the Sharjah Public Transport Corporation (SPTC). The remaining cars will be introduced on a monthly basis.

The new public taxis will have meters and fares will start from Dh2.50 during the day and Dh3 after 10pm.

SPTC is also responsible for operating four franchise taxi companies that offer more than 4,000 taxis, which include Advantage Taxi, Union Taxi, City Taxi and Emirates Taxi. An SPTC official said that all our taxi drivers are trained. As of now, there are no female taxi drivers in the city but there are a few female taxi drivers from Sharjah airport. The new service is expected to fill in the high demand for taxis.

Basic price

"The basic price has not been raised in five years," said the SPTC official.

The need to introduce the new taxi service was to meet the high demand by residents who frequently complain of a lack of taxis on the roads, in addition to helping the public transport system grow, according to the official.

For complaints and suggestions, passengers can call: 700067000, said the official.