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28 March 2024

Undercover agents being used to monitor Dubai cabbies

Published
By Mohammad El Sadafy

Reckless driving, misbehaving with passengers and not knowing places - top the list of complaints received against drivers of Dubai Taxi Corporation cabs,  according to Mansour Al Falasi, Director of Resources and Support and Head of the Complaints and Suggestions Committee at DTC.

The other two major complaints were attempts to extract more money from passengers and refusal to pick up passengers, Al Falasi said in an exclusive interview with Emirates 24|7.

Drivers found guilty of violation of DTC rules are sent for training. They are given warnings in writing and fined. If any driver is found to have stolen passenger’s belongings or hurt DTC’s reputation, they are sacked. A driver can also lose his job if three similar or six different complaints are made against him in a year.

Al Falasi revealed that DTC is using ‘secret agents’ to monitor how drivers are dealing with passengers, whether they know places and whether they use the mobile phone while driving.

DTC has 3,504 taxi operating round the clock and 8,000 drivers of 31 nationalities. All drivers joining DTC undergo  three-week training which covers taking care of the vehicle’s appearance, knowledge of roads and places, safe driving, helping passengers to carry bags and using the tariff meter.

Al Falasi said the more experience a driver has with DTC the fewer the number of complaints about him. If a driver makes a mistake, he is given training ranging from eight to 16 hours spread over three working days. He will be given a full day’s training on using the GPS if the complaint is that he does not know Dubai’s landmarks.

He urged the public and visitors to take care of their baggage, and request an invoice of the trip before getting down from a DTC taxi since bill can help identify the driver and the time and date of the journey.