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Taxis: Slavery?


Dubai Knight Just recently I have noticed a huge increase in the number of taxi drivers in Dubai who: a) Have basic or little ability to drive b) Have no knowledge of Dubai c) Seem to think they can get away with taking the longest or most roundabout route d) Delight in telling you "I am new driver!" Surely, the purpose of a taxi is to convey us, the customer, to the place we wish to go in the shortest possible time in safety and comfort...? It seems that the taxi companies policy these days is to take a newly arrived expat who passes an examination called 'identify a car from 5 paces' and then stick him in a uniform, give him a Camry and put him out on the streets to fend for himself. Speaking to one the other day, they also charge the driver for permission to come to work so that they have to make a basic minimum of Dhs.350 per day before they even start to earn any money. Take that in real terms, if the average cab ride in Dubai is Dhs 15, he has to make 23 fares each day before he even starts earning. With the state of the traffic here, each of those fares could take 20 minutes. Thats 7.6 hours a day...before he starts to earn anything! That smacks of slavery to me... :shock: :shock: :shock: Knight
^ian^
They're not all new, it's just an excuse for being incompetent such as "too much traffic, too much trouble."

Slavery would be not paying them at all.
I hear even in the UK there's jobs where the work is crap and the pay is crapper. sage & onion
How much did you tip the driver who told you this?
Doesn't seem to be a shortage of cabs on the road, can't be that bad :wink: freza I agree with DK on this, taxi drivers are under extreme pressure by unscrupulous taxi companies and their jobs are worsened by their working conditons. It's a problem that eventually affects those of us on the roads: The more stressful the taxi drivers out there, the worse the commute for many of us, and the more road dangers. I often hear and read criticisms of taxi drivers but I think these are mostly unfair and miss their mark. It's the sole responsability of the taxi companies to train their drivers well and to make sure that they're familiarized with the city streets. Also the quota system is very unfair and motivated by excessive and uncesseary greed, it's basically an unethical practice the way it's being implemented here. Quotas are necessary but not to such an extent. Many of these taxi drivers also don't get any days off, though they have one of the most stressful jobs. I hope the government intervenes in this situation soon. But people need to focus and complain about the real culprits here: the taxi companies and lack of proper labor regulations. pinoy1 I never encountered one who deliberately took the long route. They must have known that people of my kind ain't also earning much here. heh-heh.. they even know my language's term for 'cheapskate'. lol sage & onion So, if they raise the fares by 25 / 30 / 35% or whatever in order to give to the driver more money, you will all be OK with that? Or alternatively why not give a real heavy tip to each driver you use. At least that way you will be doing your bit 8) asc_26 I don't give tip to taxi drivers. :? pinoy1 ^ because you're "kuripot". Hehe. I don't give tips too. It's ok I think they understand we can't afford anymore to give them tips. Anyway the rate is high enough for us. Dubai Knight Sort of doubtful the govenrment will intervene...who owns the largest taxi company? RTA! Yeah, there are low paying jobs in the UK and Europe, but people there are protected by the law and there is a minimum wage. In London you cannot get a licence to be a taxi driver unless you have done the exam ('The Knowledge') which is tough and thorough and means you actually know where you are going and the fastest routes to it as well as the laws of the road and prove the ability to drive the vehicle you are in control of. It is classified as 'Public Transport'. So is air travel. Would you get on a plane where the pilot only had the basic knowledge to fly the thing but had no idea where he was flying to? :shock: :shock: :shock: Knight freza sage, Is that question for me? I'll answer it even if it's not meant for me...I really don't mind paying extra if I know that the drivers will pocket their fair share, and I'm a generous tipper. When it comes to increase of fares, who would guarantee that fare increase will result in better wages for the drivers? Do we know how much profit the taxi companies are pocketing? I think you sorely miss the point. What is needed is regulation. I suspect that the solution is not found in increasing fares but in something as simple as fair profit implementation and distribution.

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pinoy1 ^ I don't think that is ever going to happen as almost everything here is left virtually unregulated, and most companies exploit. sage & onion
Who will regulate, Dubai Taxi controls all taxi Companies, owner of Dubai Taxi = RTA = Government freza An outside agency would be ideal but even these are government controlled. I don't think regulation or fair self-regulation is an impossibility. Public pressure on this issue and positive PR for Dubai's government would be two reasons to do it. asc_26
I am not KANDIOS! :evil: I give tips to deserving drivers only and for those who drive like they have princess inside the cab. :D Company don't reimburse tippings ehh.. :wink: MaaaD
thats not true, i always ask for the receipt to include the tip this way you can expense the fare + tip. kanelli I think regulation is definitely needed. I also think that taxi drivers are being used as slave labour, since as DK mentioned, they can't seem to make any profit for themselves until they have worked almost 8 hrs already. Tired and stressed taxi drivers that receive no training and have poor driving skills are a disaster for Dubai and for the drivers themselves. Something needs to be done about the current situation. I always tip taxi drivers! asc_26
Ahh ok. You give me an idea MaaD. I'll do that next time. :wink: zam Errr K really? I only tip when the driver isnt rude and not smelly. I dunno how to react on this, slavery is such a huge word. The taxi drivers might be treated a bit unfair with the low income but thats it,at least they are still paid and profiting. Only those who doesnt know how to manage their own lives will rant how hard the job is. Ive met a few drivers whose like more than 5+ yrs in the service, they werent complaining. In any part of the world blue collar jobs get less salary, and they have to deal with it. :roll: sage & onion
Still doesn't seem to be any shortage of taxis, which would of course indicate that their is a problem.
^ian^
I don't get this... why does this indicate their is a problem? sage & onion
Well if things were so bad they wouldn't have any drivers ^ian^
So there isn't a problem... make up your mind. kanelli There are many people coming here to make money - they don't know how bad it is until they get locked into a contract and their employer has their passport. sage & onion
Sorry Ian,
What I meant was if their was a shortage of taxi's then this would indicate a problem with the drivers.
As their is no shortage of taxi's this would indicate that their is no problem with the drivers. kanelli I suspect that there is a steady line of men waiting to get a stint as a driver because they don't all have a clue what they are getting into. There may be a large number of drivers and taxis on the road, but what is the turnover for taxi drivers? Quite high I think... ^ian^
Being a taxi driver can pay a lot more than being a construction worker. I spoke to a taxi driver once who said he was "the best" for his company, and he earned 7000 dh a month. He said he also received regular bonuses and he loved it.
I spoke to one who said it was a terrible job. He spent more time waiting for fares than driving, he only got 2000 dh a month, and he always seemed to get the customers who only wanted to go a short distance. It was terrible and he wanted to go home but couldn't afford to.
I spoke to a marketing executive the other month who earns 25k+ working for a major property developer here in Dubai (sister company of ours) he said he loved it, it was hard work, a lot of stress, but he was making ground and achieving things.
I spoke to a marketing executive last week who was earning 12k a month and was working for a large property developer. He said he hated it and his job was shitty and he never got any breaks. He said he wished he'd never come to Dubai as he hasn't managed to save a penny.
And then there's the guys who really have something to complain about... gtmash
The marketing exec making 12k and not saving anything must be a total loser :lol: . I too came across a taxi driver from a Sharjah company who told me clearly that he felt he was making good money easily, around 3k or so. the_zooter
And how many hours did the guy have to work to earn 7000dhs??
To me, the big problem here is the amount of hours the taxi drivers have to work. Here in the UK, drivers of heavy goods vehicles can only drive for so many hours a day.
It stands to reason that the longer you spend driving, the more tired you get, and the more accidents happen - something that Dubai could well do without! Concord I must either be lucky or some of you guys are exageratting. I've been in many many cab rides in Dubai and never ever had a problem. One time a new driver did not know where the Dusit was but hell each and everyone of those drivers had a "first day on the job". Driving a taxi in Dubai and for the pay they get has got to be one of the most stressful jobs in Dubai. I say tip your taxi driver each time - and tip them well. If you do not tip you can find at least 10 reasons not to (1. Dirty cab, 2. Smelly cab, 3. going too fast, 4. going too slow, 5. does not speak english, 6. did not know where he was going, 7. on the phone, 8. talked to me too much, 9. did not talk to me, 10. it was a camry.... etc. etc.). By the way, the other person I think you should always tip is the delivery person that brings food to your door - Always. sage & onion
Totally agree, Respect Concs. ^ian^
Correct, the marketing exec. has drive, no passion, no motivation and complains about everything. sage & onion
I like to believe that everyone is in charge of his/her own destiny 8) ^ian^
Good point!



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