Background checks will be carried out on all passengers in a carpool under new regulations legalising the lift-share practice.
Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) said on Monday it plans to introduce a system whereby motorists can register for licences that will formally allow them to share car journeys to work.
People can apply for licences to share cars with up to three colleagues, but before the RTA will approve a licence backgrounds checks must be done on all colleagues intending to carpool, UAE daily The National reported on Tuesday.
Although widely practiced across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, carpooling is actually illegal under UAE law and offenders can be fined up to 5,000 dirhams ($1,361) if caught.
In both cities, motorists have complained about being unfairly fined for allegedly running illegal taxi services when they were giving colleagues lifts to work.
Khalid Mohammed Hashim, a director at the RTA’s Public Transport Agency, said the system was a way of protecting legitimate carpoolers.
Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Government also plans to introduce a similar registration scheme to regulate carpooling as part of a long-term transport plan to help the city to cope with a rapidly growing population and increasing tourism.
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