The starting fare for taking a taxi from Dubai to Sharjah has been increased to AED20 with immediate effect, according to the Road and Transport Authority (RTA).
The move comes just six days after it introduced a starting fare for all trips within Dubai of AED10, after drivers complained of poor earnings as a result of too many short rides, which affected their income targets.
It is not only a ride to Sharjah that will cost a minimum of AED20, but all destinations in the Northern Emirates, confirmed a senior official at the RTA, in an interview with UAE daily Gulf News.
“The starting fare of AED20 is not just from Dubai to Sharjah, it is applicable on trips from Dubai to other Northern Emirates including Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah,” said the official.
However, passengers should only start paying the extra fare when taxi metres showed the AED20 charge.
It would take up to three weeks for all 7,500 taxis to have their metres altered, he added.
“We have around 7,500 taxis on the road and it will take at least two to three weeks to alter all the taxi meters for the new fares. More than 1,000 taxi meters have already been altered. A passenger should pay the additional AED20 fare if it appears on the taxi meter,” explained the RTA official.
There would still be no starting fare for passengers travelling to Abu Dhabi, Hatta, Al Ain and Fujairah, he confirmed.
The Dubai move reciprocates a similar measure by Sharjah Transport Corporation which set the starting taxi fare at AED20 on Dec, 1 last year for passengers travelling from Sharjah to Dubai.
Increasing the starting charges would encourage more drivers to make inter-emirates trips after it emerged that many refused to take passengers from Dubai to Sharjah, and vice-versa, because of the time wasted in heavy traffic.
It takes a couple of hours for a round trip and sometimes drivers earn only AED20 to AED30 – they have to return empty due to an old rule that says a taxi from one emirate cannot pick up in another emirate.
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