Dubai: Taxi passengers report lost items, mostly mobile phones, 20 to 30 times a day to the Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC), a top official said.
DTC acting CEO Ahmad Al Hammadi said the items are largely traced within 5-20 minutes.
Al Hammadi’s comments turn focus on the Remember initiative launched earlier this month by the DTC and Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to bring down cases pertaining to lost items.
In 2012, more than 12,800 such cases were reported, official figures state, with 40 per cent of the lost belongings being recovered.
Al Hammadi warned action would be taken against drivers who fail to declare belongings left behind. “If the complaint is true and we find the driver is guilty according to the Article No 34 in the Drivers Violations policy, he will be terminated,” he said.
Drivers are to hand over lost items to Dubai Police, an RTA official added.
A number of drivers are awarded each year for their honesty in returning valuables left behind by passengers like cash and jewellery.
Passengers are advised to keep a receipt of their trip as the receipt carries important information that can be used to fast-track recovery of lost items.
The Remember initiative is being promoted by officials visiting various government and private entities to increase awareness on the issue.
In 2010, the number of reported lost items totalled 27,705 cases, with a found items rate of 15 per cent. The found items rate improved in 2011 to 28.8 per cent.
An RTA official said: “Customers’ satisfaction is the number one priority of DTC that witnessed a remarkable improvement thanks to a number of measures, initiatives and projects targeting DTC’s staff, cabbies or customers. Remember is one of the initiatives launched of late by the DTC in response to the high rate of items reported lost on board taxicabs and the campaign has succeeded in inducing positive and significant improvement as shown by DTC’s statistics.”
