Cabs to come fast: New taxi hotline
Cabs to come fast: New taxi hotline
A new booking system is all set to make long taxi waits a thing of the past for hotel and restaurant guests. Or at least that's what the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) claims.
Fifteen hotels now use the new taxi booking service that allows outlets to key in the room or table number of the guests to get cabs without going through a call centre.
"This means guests get a taxi faster," said Abdul Aziz Malek, Chief of Dubai Taxi Agency, an RTA arm which oversees nearly 7,000 taxis in Dubai.
The 24-hour service allows multiple taxis to be requested in one go, alongside cancellations and advanced bookings. Information received by the call centre is sent out to taxi drivers electronically and the nearest free driver gets the outlet's name, location and table or room number.
Dubai is plagued by taxi woes due to high cab demand and crawling traffic, said Malek, citing a "dramatic increase" in taxi bookings.
A successful month-long trial towards the end of 2007 took place at the Royal Palace Hotel Apartments in Al Qusais. In its initial roll-out early this year, 15 other hotels saw 20,000 bookings per month.
The next phase will cover all restaurants and hotels across Dubai. "We are now receiving up to 16,000 requests a day, thereby putting a lot of pressure on our operators. This, in turn, means long waiting periods for customers to talk to an agent. We have a very small call centre," said Malek.
"The influx in taxi requests is due to traffic diversions and constructions. That's why we are introducing alternative ways to book taxis.
"The hotel and the restaurant service, along with the internet and the IVR (interactive voice response) facility, may mean lesser load on the operator and more convenience for customers as well as more efficient services.
"If a customer needs to catch a flight at 1pm, then the taxi request must be made at 11am to make sure there is room for delays due to traffic."
04-208 0808
is the number that a customer needs to dial in order to access the service
Fast facts
- The existing IVR system sends requests via the GPS to taxis close to the customer in order to save time. As soon as the request is made, the GPS system – installed in the taxi – locates the customer.
- The IVR allows users to book by phone, wherein customers must key in the day and time. The system automatically registers the address after the first call.
- Online requests can be made at www.dubaitaxi.ae where passengers can book a taxi an hour, or even days, in advance.
- Forty per cent of taxi passengers now book their own taxis and maintain their own address profiles without calling an operator.
- Hotels and restaurants interested in this service need to e-mail dispatch@dtc.gov.ae in order to create a profile.
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