Dubai rolls out 150 new special taxis

The chances of a pre-booked taxi in Dubai failing to show up are set to be decreased with a fleet of 150 specially marked cars about to hit the streets, it was reported.

The Road and Transport Authority said that the new taxis will stand out from other cabs. Their drivers will only be allowed to take pre-booked fares, according to news website Emirates24/7.com.

Youssef Ali, director Public Transport Agency at the Road and Transport Authority, said: “These taxis will look different from the regular taxis and cannot be stopped by regular customers.”

However, no details were provided on what the taxis would look like or the exact date they would become operational.

Figures released by the RTA last month showed Dubai taxis carried out 50,012,545 journeys in the first six months of 2013, a rise of around three percent compared to the same period last year.

The figure, which worked out to about 8,335,424 trips per month, was considered a new record for Dubai.

All up, 1,472,297 trips were booked through the taxi call centre, with 222,933 serviced within five minutes and the majority of customers received a taxi within 20 minutes.