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Sharjah: The new starting taxi fare for passengers travelling between Sharjah and Dubai started with few glitches as the meters for many taxis were not updated for the new service.
Passengers travelling by taxi between Sharjah and Dubai have to pay an additional fare of Dh20 from Monday.
Sharjah Transport Authority recently announced that as of December 1, passengers travelling from Sharjah to Dubai will have to pay Dh20 as the starting fare. But many taxi drivers did not have the option of starting their taxi meters from Dh20.
The current metered taxi starts from Dh2.50 during day time and Dh3.30 at night to any destination.
Taxi drivers employed by Sharjah Taxi, which is run by Sharjah Transport Authority, were unaware that the rule had already been implemented as their meters were not updated with the changes.
"Nobody told me that these changes would take place today, and the data on the meter has not been updated yet," said Zulfakar Ali.
A senior official at STA said that the metered taxi systems were not updated yet with the necessary data, and confirmed that the new fare had already taken effect.
The management at other taxi firms went ahead as scheduled and started charging passengers going to Dubai with the additional Dh20 fee.
"The new charges started at midnight on December 1, and all the taxis are equipped with the necessary data to update their meters with. If some taxis are not charging the new fare to Dubai, then it is probably because their meter was not updated properly," said Mohammad Al Haddad, Managing Director, Advantage Taxi.
Taxi drivers were sceptical about the new meter fee and said that it will not affect them in any way.
"Now it will be up to the passenger to decide whether he wants to pay extra and go to Dubai with a taxi," said Saeed Sharafat, a taxi driver.
- With inputs from Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter
Do you travel by taxi? How will this affect the frequency of your travel time between the emirates? Would this encourage you to use other forms of transportation? Fill in the form bellow to send your comments.
Your comments
This is a good decision. It will reduce the traffic between Dubai and Sharjah and people will use public transport more.
Praveen
Dubai,UAE
Posted: December 02, 2008, 12:57
They could have started with Dh10 instead of Dh20. Charging high is ok as long as it is within certain limits.
Naina Nair
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: December 02, 2008, 12:55
This is not fair, the taxi charges are already high.
Ahmad
Dubai,UAE
Posted: December 02, 2008, 11:15
This is just adding to the woes of residents in the UAE. If someone has to travel for work, there is no option but to pay the extra money.
Gautam
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: December 02, 2008, 09:21
Sometimes I use taxis. Now I would rather travel on a camel!
Jihad Barhouche
Dubai,UAE
Posted: December 02, 2008, 08:33
These decisions are really making life harder for people who need to travel between Dubai and Sharjah everyday.
Thomas
Dubai,UAE
Posted: December 02, 2008, 07:58
I will find other ways to travel. I do not want to use taxis anymore.
SikAnder
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: December 02, 2008, 07:09
I do not see a reason behind this hike. I feel passengers are just being ripped off. Dh20 hike is no joke. It is very sad to see such measures being taken.
Dheeraj Gulabani
Ottawa,Canada
Posted: December 02, 2008, 06:33
I was just wondering how this new fare will help the people in the 86 profession-category commute.
Joypo
Dubai,UAE
Posted: December 02, 2008, 06:21
This rule would not help commuters.
Picaso
Dubai,UAE
Posted: December 02, 2008, 04:26
I always travel by taxis. This new fare will let me think twice before travelling to Dubai.
Hasan
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: December 02, 2008, 04:11
This would really make life harder for many of us who can't afford a car.
From a reader
dubai,UAE
Posted: December 02, 2008, 03:27
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