Dubai to get 1,100 new taxis

Commuters in Dubai will soon benefit from a raft of new taxis after the emirate’s transport regulator agreed to purchase 1,100 new 2013 Toyota vehicles.

The deal between Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC), the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) and dealership Al Futtaim Motors will see 930 Camry, 20 Hybrid Camry and 150 Innova cars enter Dubai’s taxi fleet.

None of the parties specified how much the deal, which came following a tender on Tejari.com, was worth or how long it would take for the vehicles to enter service.

“We released a tender via Tejari.com to buy 1,100 sedans from Al-Futtaim Motors, one of the main suppliers of DTC’s fleet which consists of 3504 vehicles,” said Dr Yousef Al Ali, CEO of DTC.

“In the framework of this cooperation which dates for more than 16 years, we believe this agreement will further strengthen and consolidate our strategic partnership, whilst increasing the Toyota share of the DTC fleet to 86 percent. Toyota's strength lies in its legendary performance, quality, durability and reliability of its vehicles, all of which are essential requirements for taxi operations,” Dr Al Ali added.

Dubai has been gradually introducing hybrid vehicles into its taxi fleets since 2008, when DTC purchased 10 Hybrid Camry’s from Al Futtaim Motors. DTC says that the cars provide a 33 percent improvement in fuel efficiency and 33 percent lower CO2 emissions compared to non-hybrid equivalents.

“Our hybrid technology, which is leading the sustainable mobility world-wide has gained the trust of DTC over the last few years and we are extremely pleased with the renewal of our cooperation where 20 new Camry Hybrid will be put to the test by DTC’s restless drivers,” added Simon Frith, managing director of Al Futtaim Motors.

“This will help us contribute to a cleaner environment and further reinforce our position as a responsible automotive partner.”