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Traffic woes — a hard nut to crack

A hotelier complained that he is forced to go out of his way and offer complimentary hotel transport to guests desiring to visit shopping malls, restaurants or the exhibition venues in Dubai.

“As part of our service to the guests, hotels offer free shuttle service only to airport, the beach and shopping malls. But, the daily traffic chaos and non-availability of taxis, particularly on the Al Rigga Road in the morning, results in our guests waiting endlessly for taxis. As a result, the guests demand hotel transport to their destinations and it becomes difficult to please all guests at all times,” General Manager of a hotel (name withheld on request) located on Al Rigga pointed out.

Another official of a three-star hotel, located on the road linking Al Rigga, said: “If our guest is lucky to get a taxi, the traffic snarl on the road leading to the Clock Tower area is unbearable for them and they often complain they were overcharged by a cabbie. A distance of just 100 metres on Al Rigga Road and its link roads takes about 45 minutes in the morning, resulting in taxis refusing to enter such areas, or charging steep amount as waiting charges."

Expressing concern over the impact such crisis could have on the hotel business in the future, if the authorities failed to take immediate action and the traffic police do not get control on the traffic menace, the hotel official noted, “Lack of easy access to public transport network within the emirate will mar the image of Dubai.”

In addition to the hotel guests, visitors to these areas are also victims of lack of taxis to reach places and meetings on time. “I go to Dubai Municipality main building daily and return around 2pm. Considering that there are a number of government departments and star hotels in the vicinity, there should be no dearth of taxis at any time of the day. But everyday I have to walk all the way to Al Ghurair City or sometimes to an upcoming mall nearby,” says Ghazanfar Ali.

He had this to ask the taxi companies in Dubai: “If the combined fleet of the taxi companies in Dubai is not big enough to serve the bustling city, why blame the customers or illegal car pools?” Other passengers say that there are certain areas the cabbies avoid.

“You note down the number of the taxi and call the company to get your complaint registered, and you are put on hold for minutes on end, and forced to listen to a hollow promotional talk about 'the most luxurious yet economical way to travel ...' What is the passenger supposed to do?” asks Celia.

Cabbies have been reported to be discourteous with passengers travelling short journeys, while there have also been instances where passengers, headed for Sharjah in the evening, were asked to step out of the vehicle barely minutes into the journey as the cabbies thought the traffic jams were too bad.

DIAL 2080808 for a taxi

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Ammar bin Tamim, Deputy Manger of Administrative Affairs Department in Dubai Transport Corporation, said that particular road had several other link roads, and that could be a reason for the traffic snarls.

“It is not necessary for people to get a taxi on the road, they can always book for a taxi in advance by calling 2080808. This would also save them the waiting time as well as reduce the unnecessary traffic jam on the road,” he said and added that the nearby taxi station in that area was located in Al Ghurair from where a taxi could arrive in less than 10 minutes.

“Actually, this is a very general complaint and we have never had any particular complaint from this area before,” he added.

M.I. Abdul Razzaq, Manager, Administration and Commercial Division of Cars Taxi, said that usually an empty taxi does not venture inside a crowded area.

“The taxi can only go in when it is going to drop a passenger, and at that time, because of the crowd, many people require a taxi, thereby causing a shortage,” he explained. “This is a very common problem and can happen anywhere,” he added.

• UAE