Dubai commuters skip 1-hour bus queue with new Dh66 taxi-share service to Abu Dhabi
In the past, if they didn’t want to use the inter-city bus during peak hours, for some reason, they had to pay Dh250 for a taxi to the Capital City of UAE.
Filipina expat Cheryl arrived at the Ibn Battuta station on Tuesday morning, she wanted to take the bus from there to Abu Dhabi but also knew that due to rush, she would have to wait for an hour at least before a seat is available for her. So, it was at that time she decided to make use of the new taxi-sharing zeta service which was introduced by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
“I usually go to work in Abu Dhabi and take the bus to there,” she stated as she hurried to get a taxi. “Normally, when I travel on the bus, there are some passengers who come up asking me to share the taxi. I never did it because I knew it was illegal but it was tempting. When I read that the RTA has started, I was so pleased. Therefore, this afternoon I decided to practice it. Some people were there, so I asked them if they wanted to share a taxi with me and they said yes.”
On Monday, the RTA introduced the new service where four taxi passengers can share a taxi between Ibn Battuta Centre in Dubai and Al Wahda Centre in Abu Dhabi and save as much as 75% in taxi fares. The cost is Dh66 per person if the taxi is shared by four people and Dh88 if three people share the taxi.
"This is really one of the best moves," said Cheryl. "Absolutely, I am so thankful for this because it helps me a great deal in terms of time. Looking at the queue here, I will have to wait for at least three buses before I can get a spot. That could probably take around forty-five minutes to an hour. I wouldn't be able to make it on time for my appointment if I waited. This taxi share initiative came at the most perfect time for me."
Her co-passenger, British expat Greg, был пути на выставку Adipec, the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference.
"I am staying with a friend in Discovery Gardens and came here to take a taxi to Abu Dhabi," he says. "My friend had told me that it would cost me approximately Dh250. I was okay with it because I had no other means to go to Abu Dhabi. When Cheryl came to me and asked me if I wanted to share a taxi with her, I thought why not. There were also had a tourist couple in the taxi with us. So, now we each had to pay Dh66 only. That is just a little over one-quarter the price."
Peak hours at 7-8am
The RTA announced that it would test this service for six months and then analyze the responses to determine whether it is necessary to make adjustments or extend it even further.
An anonymous John, a driver, claimed that taxi-sharing was a common practice. "I used to be asked by people in groups to permit taxi-sharing, but I used to decline as it was illegal," he stated.
“Some of those who travel on a regular basis have established ‘friend groups’ with whom they always attempt to travel with. Some of those friends, I would carry passengers since they said they are friends. But most of the time, I preferred not to do it because I did not want to incur any penalties. But this step taken by the RTA is quite commendable. It is beneficial for us since now we can legally carry more than just a few people. This also means savings for the people.”
“He said the rush for the city of Abu Dhabi usually gets to its maximum between 7.00 am until 8.00 am. So many people want to report to their workplaces from approximately 9 am,” he said. “In the absence of too many stoppages in between, it takes about one hour to reach Al Wahda mall from here. The bus makes two stops and moves at a slower pace. Therefore, a taxi comes as the first option and not so surprising that most of the taxis are stationed here at that rush time.”
The RTA aims through this program, to limit the number of cars on the road by encouraging people to share taxis, thereby helping the environment through increased reduction of carbon emission and also reduce illegal forms of transport.
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