Sharjah cabbies issued up to 1,000 traffic fines every month

Sharjah - Official records show that cabbies, working with four franchise companies including the Sharjah Taxi run by the local government, committed 700 violations in June. "This is an average of 23.3 daily violations."

Up to 1,000 tickets are issued on Sharjah taxi drivers every month, according to a senior official.
Faisal Al Mahmud, head of quality control section, at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Sharjah, said the emirate's cabbies are involved in about 35 different violations every day.
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"As many as 1,000 tickets are issued against Sharjah cabbies every month whereas 1,433 violations were done by them in July; about 46.2 violations every day."
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Official records show that cabbies, working with four franchise companies including the Sharjah Taxi run by the local government, committed 700 violations in June. "This is an average of 23.3 daily violations."
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Pulling over in a wrong way and stopping in a prohibited area topped the kind of violations registered, Al Mahmud explained. "There is a significant rise in these two particular violations."
The average of these stood at 300 times a month, he elaborated. "This violation is followed by drivers' failure to wear the right uniform which ranged from 130 fines, and obstructing traffic flow by 100 tickets."
Al Mahmud said most of the tickets issued against taxi and bus drivers were in their presence. "This exactly represented over 65 per cent against 35 per cent in absentia."
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Up to 90 per cent of the violations were issued against the drivers as compared to 10 per cent against the four franchise companies, he disclosed. "Each and every company of these; Citi, Union, Emirates, and Sharjah Taxi, are evaluated monthly."
So far, the RTA Sharjah has issued 9,000 tickets against bus and taxi drivers from January 1 to August 31, Al Mahmud stated. "These are compared to 8,600 over the same period in 2015."
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Failing to turn on the trip meter, parking or stopping in a wrong way, violating hard shoulder, ignoring uniforms, foul smell and uncleanliness are some of the most violations recorded, he underlined. "Erring bus and taxi drivers, with repetitive violations, face hefty fines ranging from Dh200 to Dh3,000, let alone suspension, and even cancellation of service."
Al Mahmud affirmed that RTA Sharjah never ignores any complaint. "A fine of Dh200 and two black points are imposed on the cabbies who fail to keep their taxis clean and smell good, and the penalty can be tougher."
M.A, a cabbie, said some of his colleagues are careless about their uniform and cleanliness. "Some drivers risk their lives, passengers' and other road users' to get a customer even if they stopped in a sudden and risky way."
A taxi driver, identified as M.Q., said they cannot do anything about the foul smell as they work for several hours in the hot sun. "I try my best to keep the taxi clean and smell good, he added."
Al Mahmud said 50 inspectors are on the roads round the clock to ensure drivers' adherence to rules, he said. "Once we receive a complaint on the customer service centre (600525252), the driver is summoned for interrogation. If he is proven guilty, the due penalty is enforced."
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com