Abu Dhabi: More than 100 sharing 14-seat mini van taxis that shuttle between Abu Dhabi city and its remote areas are all set to do better with the introduction of new commuting services planned by Transport and Taxi Regulation Centre.
The TTRC was recently established under a law issued by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in his capacity as the Ruler of Abu Dhabi to help improve the transport system.
These private sharing mini van taxis shuttle between Abu Dhabi and Mussafah, Baniyas and Wathbah, charging passengers Dh3. Along with these vans, four-seat sharing taxis also operate on these routes, charging Dh5. However, since a new system will replace the existing services, these sharing taxis will also be phased out and their passengers will turn to 14-seater mini vans.
G. Mohammad, a Pakistan van driver, said most of the passengers on remote area routes prefer these vans and four-seat taxis due to their frequencies and fast services compared with public buses.
Abu Dhabi and Al Ain residents mainly depend on taxis due to the shortage of public transport and their poor frequency.
Another van driver, Rahmat Ali, said currently their business with cheap fares is very poor. He said:" I hope we will be allowed to continue operating after the new taxi services are introduced. When other share taxis are out, we will be able to do better."
