Passengers unhappy over Sharjah taxi rates hike plan

Sharjah: Residents have expressed discontent over the proposed increase in taxis tariff and minimum fare.

"Even though I will have to pay [only] about Dh2 extra for each trip, it will definitely mean an increase in my monthly expenditure. I do not have a car and usually take a taxi to work, so I do not have any alternative but to pay more," said Mohi Al Deen.

"If there was a good alternative to taxis then I would not mind the changes so much. But the buses are difficult to get because the bus stops do not display the routes of the buses, and there isn't any shade. I cannot stand in this heat waiting for 30 minutes for a bus to come," said George.

The passengers were responding to Sharjah Transport's announcement on Sunday raising the minimum taxi fare to Dh10 and tariff from Dh1 for every 650 metres to Dh1 for every 620 metres from September 1.

The starting fare will however remain the same at Dh3.5 during the day and Dh4 at night.

A senior official at Sharjah Transport said the introduction of a minimum fare will be beneficial to passengers, as well as to the five taxi franchises, since it will enable companies to improve their quality of service.

"I think that this is completely unnecessary. Even though I only take taxis for short trips, I do not see why I have to pay Dh10 when it will normally cost me Dh6. I will continue taking taxis because of its convenience, but I do not see why we [passengers] have to pay more," said Asma, a resident of Al Taawun. This is not the first time that Sharjah Transport has raised taxi fees and residents said that they did not notice any improvement in the quality of taxis the last time the rates went up.

In February, the authority hiked the tariff from Dh1 for every 800 metres covered to Dh1 for every 650 metres. In December 2008, Sharjah Transport implemented a minimum fare of Dh20 for commuters travelling from Sharjah to Dubai.

Abdullah Al Zari, Director General of Sharjah Transport, attributed the increases to fuel price hike. "The changes … were established after we received numerous [requests] from taxi franchise companies, who were unable to cope with the recent hike in fuel prices, which in turn increased their operating costs," Al Zari said.