Abu Dhabi to crackdown on illegal passenger transport

In a series of initiatives launched to improve transport safety in Abu Dhabi, the Department of Transport (DOT) and Transad have joined hands to combat the practice of illegal transport services.

Hashem Al Hashemi, DOT’s Director of Public Transport, explained that passengers are sometimes seen being transported along with goods, embarking and disembarking at any place and holding up traffic.

Some of these buses are not licensed to transport passengers, some of the drivers do not have a driver’s permit and the buses are sometimes parked in areas not designated for them.

Similarly, illegal transporting occurs in the taxi service industry, when taxi rides are offered without licence to provide such service.

According to Mohammed Hosni, Director Licensing and Franchise Centre at Transad, the organisation has dealt with 1,657 cases of illegal trafficking of passengers, of which 378 cases took place in the first half of 2013. 324 cases are currently under investigation by Abu Dhabi Police.

In cooperation with the Judiciary Department, Public Prosecution, the General Directorate of Residence and Foreigners Affairs and Abu Dhabi Police, a committee has been formed for to educate the public about the dangers of “passenger smuggling”.

Mohammed Hosni stressed that offering as well as using unlicensed taxi services can result in fines between Dh5,000 and Dh10,000 and imprisonment for 30 days.

He added that the centre is in the process of increasing the number of inspectors to strengthen efforts to put an end to this practice. He called on the public to inform the centre if they see illegal transport.

DOT is also working on new legislation to regulate small and medium bus services. The new set of rules is to complement the previous legislation and will provide the framework for taking legal action against offenders.

Hashemi said an electronic system to renew the licenses of vehicles and bus drivers has been developed which is scheduled to be launched in the last quarter of this year.

According to Hashemi, DOT has taken many steps to make it easier for institutions, corporations and individuals to obtain new licences or renew bus licences and the electronic system is one of these steps. He added that the department has granted new licences and renewed licences of more than 5,000 minibuses so far.

Recently DOT proposed federal legislation through the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (Esma) to reduce the number of passengers from 14 to 9, providing seats with triple safety belts, restricting the maximum cruise control speed to 100 kmph, which was realised under the Council of Ministers Resolution No. 6 for the year 2011.

The DOT also issued new legislation on school bus transportation in September 2012 and they are currently following up on the implementation through a joint committee of DOT, Abu Dhabi Police and the Abu Dhabi Education Council.

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