Taxi Prices in Qatar to Increase?
As many people have written, I've had horrible experiences trying to book taxis with Mowasalat. Sometimes they don't show up, sometimes they show up hours late, sometimes they just don't answer your phone calls. It's become such a nightmare that on more than one occassion I've been forced to take a limo service since Mowasalat let me down. And have you noticed that the prices for limos have went up recently? Previously you'd pay around QR30 for a trip - they are now asking for QR50-QR60!
Now I've just read that taxi fares in Doha
...are set to rise 10-15% by the end of 2007, the Peninsula reported. Increasing vehicle costs and general inflation has made a hike 'inevitable', according to Public Transport Company marketing manager Ahmed Al Ansari.
Right, so not only is Mowasalat going to run the most unreliable taxi service I've ever used but they are now going to charge us more for the pleasure of (not) using it.
I suspect that when the taxi fares go up, the limo fares will go up even further!
poolplan - you should be able to get a qatari license without too much hassle. Ask your company to sort it out for you.
amnesia - not sure if you're still reading this thread but I have a couple of questions. I'm not disputing what you said above, I'm just interested to know;
Why do the Mowasalat buses have Karwa written on them?
If Karwa means taxi (I'm taking your word on this - I have no idea if it does or not!) it seems odd to write it on their buses.
Also you say Karwa isn't a company, but in Marhaba there are Karwa adverts. Amusingly, their tag line: 'Keeping Qatar on The Move' - haha!
And am I right in thinking Mowasalat is Qatar's public transport company? How is this split up into 5 companies?
Thanks in advance!
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http://tall-and-ginger.blogspot.com
It is impossible to book or flag a taxi down. It doesn't help with this silly rule that you cannot drive without a Qatari licence after 7 days. So how are you supposed to get to work? But I think GCC Nationals are allowed on drive on their respective licences. I have a valid Dubai driving licence but cant use it because I am not a GCC National!
I ended up having to pay QR 45 for a 10 minute journey using the limo service because I couldn't book a taxi.
Al Sharq reports that taxi prices are to increase by a total of 2 riyals per journey. That's all.
I think people don't read alot of threads but I'll repeat.
Karwa means taxi. So when you see a car that says Karwa, it's not a COMPANY called Karwa, it says Taxi in Arabic (transliteration).
It's not ONE company which runs it either.
There are 5 companies (with two more licenses being given soon) that have to use the same branding. That's why you get a different level of service per taxi.
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I have to agree with fusion fake, its overall bad management. I don’t know if 700 drivers resigned or not but there are hundreds of taxi’s lying around in the Mowsalat HQ with no drivers. I wonder why they buy 100-200 cars periodically , announce it in a big way in the papers and leave it to rot in their HQ.
Get a car !!! Do not rely on the taxis. It is allright now and again, but dont use taxis on the regular basis, and make you not rely on flagging down taxi to go to work.
Sometime ago I set off to get a taxi to the Ramada signals. It is about 2km down the 'C' ring road.
Anyway, one or two cruised past, one making a 'I'm going to eat gesture', the other just took the simple option and looked straight ahead.
So, I thought I would walk in that direction as I tryied to flag one down ..... guess what? .......... I walked all the way to the Ramada signals!!!!!
Don't get me wrong, I am fit and able to do so, but to arrive in the sweaty state I did, it was hard to believe I had just had a shower 1 hour before!!!!
If they increase the fare price and do not improve the service this will only encourage more people to buy their own vehicles. This will result in more vehicles plying the roads of Qatar and therefore resulting to heavier traffic for all of us. Call that efficient urban planning!!!
If the money from the price increase will be used to teach drivers to take showers and use deodorant, I don't mind. Most of the drivers stink like hell, so it is impossible to use the taxi anyhow.
Its not drivers fault. Actually its a bad management. Drivers are asked to earn 220 riyals a day and they are not getting monthly salary.
700 drivers have resigned already.
Now they are increasing fares.
Already the fares are high in comparision with YELLOW taxi cabs. They dont care about anything, what ever we cry, its gonna be on rise as everything else.
You need wait for an hour for taxi in this hot summer and even if they appear (75% of drivers) their minds are looking for ladies customer. Everythig is artificial hikes.
I'm exhausted, frustrated thought like "situation will change in few months", nothing happens and nothing is gonna happen.
As for the price rise for limos, not so sure whether it is 'official' or not.
It usually cost us QR20-30 to and from airport, we only live 5-10mins away. However, on the last trip from the airport (May), after a 2 day gruelling journey, we did not even think about the meter, I was just going to give him the usual, plus tip. However, after dropping us off at the house, he asked for QR50!!!
As soon as I questioned it, and before I finished speaking, he reduced to QR40!!! When I asked for a receipt and his name, he said for me to pay what I think. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I paid him QR40 and reported him the next day.
Obviously in future, it's the same old advice, we will insist the meter is switched on.
Also, I have seen plenty of examples of the Mowasalat taxi driving on by people trying to flag them down. Only yesterday one drove past a lady and her two young children on 'C' ring road!! He was travelling slow and did not appear to be on his way elsewhere with any urgency.
Gone are the days of the sound of the 'orange & whites' beeping the horn in the hope of a customer, no problem then.
There is obviously something amiss with the system, and that leads to the root cause of bad management!!!
Hope it wouldn't be the same situation like taxi fare in Bahrain =(
Cheers
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I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone, I never found the companionable solitude. - H.D. Thoreau!
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