Dubai Taxi fares up by 5 per cent

Taxi rides are going to be a tad bit costlier for commuters in Dubai. Passengers will now have to shed an additional 5 per cent over and above their total fare. For e.g. if the fare is Dh30 it will now be priced at Dh31.5, which equates to an increase of 10 to 12 fils per kilometer. The cost may change as per time of travel.

An official statement from the Roads and Transport Authority said: "As part of its endeavors towards continuous improvement of its services, the RTA has increased the taxi fares by 5 per cent which is a marginal increase. For e.g. if the fare is Dh 30 it will now be priced Dh 31.5."

The RTA has reiterated that the fare hike is very marginal. Khaleej Times had carried a story on the fare hike on Friday, November 20, quoting taxi drivers who were made aware of the hike via an SMS.

Currently, the cost of regular taxi is Dh5 at road pick-up and Dh8 at dispatch. During peak hours (7 am to 10 am), the cost is Dh12, and meter cost during 10 pm to 6 am is Dh 5.50, Dh 9 at dispatch, and Dh 12 at peak hour (4pm to 8pm).

The starting meter price for ladies taxi is Dh8 for both road pick-up and dispatch. Some taxi drivers said that the hike amounts to 10 to 12 fils. In that case, the tariffs would rise from Dh1.71 per kilometre to Dh1.82 (a six per cent jump) while an airport taxi has gone up from Dh1.75 to Dh1.96 (a 12 per cent rise).

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

Dhanusha Gokulan

Originally from India, Dhanusha Gokulan has been working as a journalist for 10 years. She has a keen interest in writing about issues that plague the common person and will never turn down a human interest story. She completed her Bachelor in Arts in Journalism, Economics and English Literature from Mangalore University in 2008. In her spare time, she dabbles with some singing/songwriting, loves travelling and Audible is her favourite mobile application. Tweet at her @wordjunkie88