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Sharjah taxi shortage hits commuters hard

Speaking to Khaleej Times, several commuters complained that they had to wait for a long time for a taxi.

“I have been waiting for over half an hour but I simply cannot find a taxi. I am ready to pay any amount, but I have to get a taxi first,” said Ayesha Khalid, who wanted to take her ailing child to the doctor.

Officials of Citi Taxi Services Company, which is a franchise of STC, say that they are faced with a shortage of drivers.

Halifudeen from Customer Care Department, while representing M. I. Abdul Razaq, Manager Administration and Commercial Citi Taxi, said that because of the replacement plan, several Pakistani drivers had left for their home country.

“Our Human Resource Department is handling new recruitments and soon we will overcome the shortage,” he said, adding that Pakistani drivers were preferred because they were in the business for years, besides being obedient and reliable as compared to drivers from other nationalities.

Several commuters, mostly belonging to the lower-income group, say that STC’s plan to systemise transportation within the emirate is aimed for a class that could afford to pay according to the meter. The meter of each taxi starts at Dh2 but the total depends on the distance travelled.

Several other commuters in the busy Rolla area of Sharjah also said that for the past month or so, they were unable to hail any kind of taxi which was, in turn, affecting their work.

“Earlier, I used to travel using a sharing taxi. This seems impossible now because of the new metered taxis plying on the roads. Besides, nowadays, it is impossible to find an empty cab,” said Mohammed Salim, who works as a salesman.

Of the 5,400 private taxis operating in Sharjah, a total of 3,000 will be phased out this year, and will be replaced by 3,000 taxis operated by four franchise companies. In 2005, 2,400 taxis will gradually be phased out and the franchised companies will start off with 750 taxis each.

At present, 265 Citi Taxis have hit the roads and by end of December 2004, the total number of taxis on the roads will be 750, say officials.

“We don’t expect to get a considerable income during the first year of operations, but for the second year and onwards, we are confident that the business will start to pick up. By then, the private, non-metered taxis, which total 5,400, will be replaced by 3,000 taxis operated by franchise companies,” they said.

With the new taxi service in Sharjah, the company expects to get 75 per cent volume of the business that it currently has in Dubai where it operates Cars Taxi, a division of ETA Ascon Group and a franchisee of Dubai Transport Corporation.

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