New e-hail taxi company to cut taxi hailing time in Dubai to five minutes
RTA and ride-hailing firm Careem signs agreement to launch e-hail taxi company in Dubai
Dubai: Hiring a taxi in five minutes and riding shared taxis will revolutionize the public transport sector in Dubai with the launch of a new e-hail taxi company in 2019.
Waiting time for taxis in Dubai will be reduced to five minutes when the e-hail taxi company floated by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in partnership with ride-hailing firm Careem becomes operational from April, officials said at a press conference on Sunday.
Commuters will also be able to book shared taxis at a later stage of the company’s operations, they said.
The new e-hail taxi company will be floated in April 2019 to provide online booking services of about 11,000 public taxis in Dubai, Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and chairman of the board of executive directors of the RTA announced at a press conference.
The aim of the company is to reduce the expected waiting time to five minutes and provide additional services like shared rides.
“It involves raising the efficiency of taxis in Dubai through enhanced accessibility of vehicles and their online booking and reducing the expected waiting time for the vehicle. “
“It also entails a host of advantages to clients such as making a direct online payment via the app, charting the most suitable journey route, sharing the ride with others , and displaying details of the vehicle and driver,” said Al Tayer.
Mudassir Sheikha, co-founder and managing director of Careem, said the services of the new company will be provided through a new feature in the existing ride-hailing app of Careem.