Taxi fare hike in Sharjah’s two regions

From today, people of the Eastern and Central regions of Sharjah will have to shell out more for a taxi ride, following a Dh1 hike in the starting fare

SHARJAH - From today, people of the Eastern and Central regions of Sharjah will have to shell out more for a taxi ride, following a Dh1 hike in the starting fare and an increase in the running fare, disregarding the place and time.

A minimum fare of Dh 5 has also been fixed in these regions now.

People residing in places like Kalba and Dibba areas within the emirate will be affected by the increase. According to a senior official, the taximeter in these regions used to start at Dh2 from 7am to 10pm and Dh2.5 from 10pm to 7am.

“The cab meters have further been realigned to tick faster: Dh1 against 750 metres as compared to Dh1 against every 1,000 metres before,” said Yusuf Al Hammadi, Manager of Sharjah Transport Office in the Eastern and Central regions.

“While the minimum tariff has been set at Dh5, 25 fils will be charged against every minute of waiting after the first 10 minutes which are free.”

Explaining, Al Hammadi said the corporation has not increased the tariff since the launch of the taxi service in the Central and Eastern regions in 2007 despite the hike in petrol prices.

“The corporation was staring at a heavy loss and, hence, had no other option but to raise the fare in line with the hike enforced in neighbouring emirates.”

Meanwhile, the number of cabs operating in the Central and Eastern regions rose from 46 in 2010 to 56 in 2011. “More taxis have been pressed into service as part of Sharjah Transport’s efforts to improve the taxi service in the emirate,” he said.

The number of cases of offering illegal taxi service by people dropped from 189 in 2010 to 149 in 2011. Temporary permits were issued to 155 vehicle owners in 2011 to transport people as against 96 in 2010 while the number of permanent permits issued was 72 in 2011 as compared to 47 in 2010.

ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE