Taxi prices

Syd,

Sorry for the hijack of this thread.

Please come here. I'm sure you'll like it. It could be boring if you don't mix and mingle with people. You will need a car, the car is cheap, and so is the petrol.

We had lots of taxis here (mostly dirty and smelly :( ), then the government revoked all their licenses that it gave to ONE company (a monopoly). I think that the still don't use all the licenses, and didn't get any new ones (even when the population has almost doubled after they were originally issued). The taxi company can't cope with the demand.

You're right, (slurping more coffee) sorry for the hijack.

Mandi

about somebody getting from A to B, not a chance to take a swipe at academia.

If you can afford to buy a car it is far the best option.

My thoughts are my own, but I doubt my Mum would agree with some of them.

I doubt that bleu's impeccable English is the problem. He even uses the correct French plural of "nouveax riches." And it's bleu, not blue, in case he is too polite to correct you on that, Lusitano. He is probably among the top three on QL in terms of education and articulation. (Ugh, it's six in the morning here, I need more coffee before I make any more grumpy posts.)

Mandi

You can write whatever you want, but it's always easy to write what one doesn't mean, and it's also easy to misunderstand, that why it's always a good idea to choose the words in a way that can't be misunderstood.

Blue,

All I can say is that it's your own interpretation.

I understand that you may feel affected by what I am saying. But you must accept that it's a fact that the amount of aggressive and abusive behavior encountered here is way above the average of a civilized country. The political system you have here does not allow problems to be exposed publicly and that is why the genuine intangible progress at human level (not the display of the tangible grandiose shallow and useless facades) is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo slow here!

Do you realize that most of the people here would not even dare to say what they think, in public or to the media??!!

Harmony is maintained here with control and fear and that is not fare! Anyway I could be here writing an assay about thinks that really bother my conscience of being here, but this is not the right place. The purpose of my participation in this post has been met, by advising SYD to be prepared for a great amount of danger, abuse and aggressiveness on the Qatari roads. The rest we may leave it for other forums or perhaps, the international free press.

lustiano, I see no need for you to drag my poor education in this by saying "Maybe your English is not good enough to understand".

Saying "Just one hint: do you know how "Nouveaux-Rich" with loads and loads of money and with a poor education behave? They tend to disrespect and abuse. You will have to deal with this behavior on a daily basis and much more other things that will make you crazy." seems to imply that most of us are like that.

Dear blue,

Maybe your English is not good enough to understand that I did NOT say that all Qataris react as "nouveaux rich". I will rephrase it for you:

The public display of aggressive and abusive behavior of some people in Qatar can be encountered on a daily basis, especially on the road!

I trust now, that you understand what I meant and that you are able to see the difference between what I said and what you understood!

Unfortunately for all who live here and for the reputation of Qatar, it's a fact and I will always tell everyone I can, how bad the situation is... Contrary to what is practiced here in Qatar, I strongly believe that by exposing the truth, we are contributing for improvement!

lustiano, calling us all uneducated "nouveaux riches" is somewhat offensive.

first of all, I see for the first time, a person from "Australia" crying so much abut taxi fares.

secondly, why he should stay near INTERCON hotel, he never disclose that logic. ( may be with some friend, so that he can save in rent also ? )

sorry - my words are NOT rude. I wish to talk the same reply to guys from my home country, who is nagging too much about petty expenses

Taxi fares are average 6 Aus Dollar= (QR15)....and if you ride a little longer (QR25) =10 Aus Dollar.

Lowest fare possible is QR3= 1.28 Aus Dollar!!! or is it QR4?

The taxies are way way overpriced here (Petrol = QR0.80 or 0.34 Aus Dollar per litre)

But that is nothing when you find:

1. You will have to book a taxi a minimum of 5 hours before schedule.

2. You will have to stand in the hot sun (40Degrees) for at least an hour before you "see" a taxi....let alone hiring one!!!

In Qatar there is only one motto.....DRIVE YOURSELF EVERYWHERE!!! ...so buy a car as soon as possible (QR 1500 per month approx).

Cost of maintenance is average QR400 per month. With Full Insurance, Petrol & Maintenance every 5,000kms :)...if you drive around 50kms per day....if you drive less it would be lesser....

SYD,

I could never suggest that to anyone that I don't know. But I have done it to friends and people that I care for.

If you have worked in any other gulf country, then you will be well prepared to handle Qatar. Otherwise, be prepared for the worse and you will eventually develop survival skills and will get used to it. Most of us can reach that point but be aware that there are here loads of things that will get into your nerves big time (much more than any other country in Asia, Europe or Americas)!

Just one hint: do you know how "Nouveaux-Rich" with loads and loads of money and with a poor education behave? They tend to disrespect and abuse. You will have to deal with this behavior on a daily basis and much more other things that will make you crazy.

We'll be here to assist you as much as possible as QLers do when someone asks for direction, but the hard work will be yours, like surviving in a jungle! As a local radio station sings every morning (and you'll get the message once you listen to it): You're in the Gulf!!!!!!!

Smoke

Trust me, I would not base a decision soley on the frequency of taxis that come past, but Lusitano, from his comments, implies that there are HEAPS of issues that I'll be facing - which im sure there will be,

And I thought China was tough

err no we didnt suggest u dont move here coz its hard to find taxi's....we said getting yourself a car is the better option. As that was your orignal question right? We've told you maintainting a car is much cheaper too.

Now if your asking about if you should move here or not, then u must follow the rules of the website, open a new thread, tell us how much salary your getting, including other allowances etc, how you like to live (ie party person or turtle in the shell) then our official QL analysts will tell if that is ok for you to consider a move. :P

Good Fortune always comes knocking at your door...when you are sh*tting in the toilet!! :)

_[]~SMoKE~[]_

so your saying dont move there lusitano?

SYD,

As I said, prepare yourself for the shock of your life and the lack of cabs is one of the smallest problems!

there are cabs but they're as few as raindrops here in Qatar... try booking for one at the last minute and you're lucky if you get any,.. you're even lucky if you can get anything booked even a day in advance... :P

oh wow -is that right? No cabs so speak of?

man, im in for a shock

LOL smoke, exactly,.. but it's better to choose less stress so that means going for own car....

lol jamille stress from taxi? either way you have stress, if you manage to get a taxi u have to deal with their maniac driving skills, or perhaps no driving skills, if you have your own car then you have to deal with the other maniacs on the road, traffic jams etc. None the less having your own car is always the best option compared to taxi.

Good Fortune always comes knocking at your door...when you are sh*tting in the toilet!! :)

_[]~SMoKE~[]_

No sane person uses taxis as a primary means of transportation in Doha.

Get a car, it's cheaper,faster, safer, more available, ...

it's wiser to get your own car,... it will save you a lot of stress from taxis here...... they're just oh so pffffftttt! well ok, there are some that are ok in service providing...

SYD,

Doha and Shanghai couldn’t be more different!!!!!!!

Be prepared to miss Shanghai!

On the other hand, all that you mentioned (car, insurance and petrol) is very very cheap.

Taxis on any other public means of transportation (also cheap) but almost not available.

If you can handle staying here, buy a second hand car (you can easily find a decent simple car for less than 5000 US; gas is dirt cheap and insurance equally cheap).

PS. Be very very careful driving here, this is probably the worse country to drive in. the problem is that there are a lot of bad and dangerous drivers from different countries with different bad habits, which can catch you by surprise in the initial period of your stay here).

Good luck and be extremely patient (100 times more than you were in China).

Manitenace and running of the cars here are cheap.. So owning and running a car will be much cheaper that taxis..

-----------------

HE WHO DARES WINS

You need it.... The truth may be hurting, but I would say you NEED a car... It is not possible to get taxis in Doha.

Very rarely seen - a species facting extinction,LOL

how come you dcided to stay near Intercon ?

Better you stay in Doha, and ask for company transportation to drop you to & fro office hours

then your life can be more easier