Passengers claim Sharjah taxi drivers overcharging

By Mariam M. Al Serkal, Staff Reporter (Gulf News) Published: December 26, 2008, 23:39
Sharjah: New taxi fares are causing dismay among passengers, some of whom claim taxi drivers are overcharging them.
Sriram Subramanian, a Sharjah resident, said his fare for travelling to Dubai was charged twice, on several occasions last week.
"My family and I went to Dubai Mall from Sharjah and the fare started from Dh20. When we arrived at our destination the fare was Dh71.25. When the taxi stopped and while I was taking out my wallet, the meter jumped to Dh91," he said.
The new taxi charge - requiring drivers to start their meters at Dh20 for all trips from Sharjah to Dubai - was imposed as of December 1.
Subramanian was shocked at the additional charge at the end of his trip, and after a long quarrel the taxi driver agreed to take Dh71 and Dh10 for Salik. However, the minimum taxi fare within Sharjah remains that same at Dh2.50 during the day and Dh3.30 at night.
Overcharged again
The second occasion where Subramanian was overcharged was while commuting through Sharjah. "When the car stopped, the meter was showing Dh5.75 and suddenly it jumped to Dh6.50. After discussing it, the driver finally accepted Dh6," he said.
Subramian's claims were unable to be verified by the concerned authorities as he did not note down the franchise's name or the taxi's serial number.
There are currently five franchise taxi companies regulated by Sharjah Transport Authority that include Advantage Taxi, Union Taxi, City Taxi, Emirates Taxi and Sharjah Taxi.
An official at City Taxi explained that if passengers do not note down the taxi number, they are still able to file a complaint by visiting the head office.
"This incident sounds impossible. But if the passenger has such a complaint, it is important to sort it out face-to-face with the complaint section. All companies have a trip sheet that documents the drivers' trips, and from that we will be able to see which driver is at fault and why it happened," said Mohammad Rostum Hassan, supervisor at City Taxi.
He added that if passengers have the taxi details, then the matter can be quickly resolved over the telephone.