BEWARE- PRIVATE TAXI OPERATORS
A news from The Peninsula today:
Clampdown pushes illegal taxis off road
Web posted at: 3/11/2009 6:22:10
Source ::: The PENINSULA / BY MOHAMMED IQBAL
DOHA: The number of private cabs in the city and its outskirts has drastically fallen thanks to an ongoing clampdown by the Traffic and Patrols Department.
Illegal taxis had literally outnumbered the Karwa taxis in the country forcing the authorities to act. Many of them have either left the scene or limited their activities fearing the hefty penalties imposed by the authorities.
With these clandestine operators forced to be off the roads, many residents believe that shortage of taxis in city would aggravate, unless Mowasalat goes for a further expansion of its fleet of buses and taxis.
A senior official from the Traffic and Patrols Department told this newspaper yesterday that the crackdown was intended to curtail this illegal activity that is a flagrant violation of the traffic law. The offense is punishable with a fine up to QR3,000 and the vehicle can be impounded.
Private cabs operate in two ways- they pick up passengers randomly from the roads similar to the Karwa taxis or transport customers through prior bookings. A number of people were relying on such vehicles to go to their offices or transport their children to the schools and back home on a regular basis.
The official said all these activities are banned by the law since only authorised taxis and limousines have been legally permitted to do that.
“We can not find many private taxis on the roads now but some of them are still available on request,” said a resident. “ Many people were using the services of these cabs due to the shortage of Karwa taxis and their high fares,” he added.
Earlier such cabs could be spotted in every street and shopping complex in the city waiting for customers or trying to strike a “deal” with a prospective passenger.
Mowasalat, that runs the hardly 2,000 strong Karwa taxis, has been putting the blame for the taxi shortage on the heavy traffic snarls in the city. Senior Mowasalat officials have claimed that the problem could be resolved only with completion of the ongoing road projects in the city.
that's what we call monopoly.
It all started when they removed the franchise of orange taxi before that operates and charges lower fare compare to karwa.
If there is another Taxi Operating Company aside from Karwa, it will be a win-win for both passengers and operators.
its 270 qr for 10 hrs .....:O
i dont knw wats wrong with the govt. here ...either end the monopoly or increase number of taxis to a large extend(5000-9000)........its the normal man who suffers ....n i think da govt shud undst dis
If KARWA has more than enough to meet the needs of the people, then I believe that's the time for the private cabs to be nabbed. However, with the current situation, it is simple foolishness and selfishness to deprive people of the convenience of being transported at their own leisure and time. Waiting for hours under the sweltering heat of the sun or shivering with the cold is not a simple matter. Besides, if you book a KARWA Taxi, you have to do it two days, the least, before your appointment. whew! Why should majority of the working class suffer because of KARWA's inefficiency?
not with good intentions...
Its also profitable for Karwa to use only 25 % of their cars...
They have limousine service.
How can a public transport company operate "premium service" along with "economy service"?
Its very obvious ....he will decrease his economy service and increase his premium service.....
The new cars could be just to manipulate the "books"...
private taxis are more dependable rather than karwa... IF you call them, for sure they will not show up!
Karwa are cheating the people of Qatar...
Breakdown per month:
Cost of a Car say Corolla is QR 2000 for3 years (only).
Cost of a driver's Salary is QR 1200.
Add a generous Qr 400 for 5,000 km servicing.
Cost of full Insurance QR 300
Say the profit is Qr 2000 per car per month for the company.
So 2,000+1,200+400+300+2,000= QR 5,900 per month should be the expected price of Karwa inclusive of cost and profit.
QR 5,600 / 30 days = QR 196 for 24 hrs.
But Karwa drivers claim Karwa is charging their drivers to pay them QR 250 per 12 hours!!!
While Karwa claim they are charging QR 250 from their drivers for 24hrs!!!
By both accounts Karwa is over charging!!!
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Also:
Cost of petrol doesnt matter as it is below QR1...so more petrol consumed would mean more profit.
They have their own workshop...so their 5K servicing & accident repairs are cheaper than our private cars.
After 3 years the QR 5,900 will become QR 3,000 making the cost per day less than QR100 for 24 hours (minus QR 2,000 EMI of car & Third Party Insurance)
if they are doing now a strict control on private taxis and imposing a hefty fines for violators, i think that many of the passengers will suffer more because of the consequences.
Honestly, booking with private taxis is a lot better than booking with karwa, i believe.
That is what we call monopoly.
private taxis are my booze angels....they always miraculously get home after a binge.
Normal taxis are cheap but alot of them have no clue where they are going. Private taxis are more expensive but are alot nicer to ride in, and plus they usually know wehre they are going. For example: Normal taxi costs 8 Riyalls from Villagio to home, but most don't know the route, private taxis costs 30 riyals but usually know the way.
really...azilana7037... sad to hear that,,,, most of the drivers also, if ur juzt going nearby they will not take u in..otherwise if u agreed to pay minimum of QR.10...
tsk..tsk,,tsk..
I depend on private taxi these days. It feels so humuliating to wait for taxi for a long time only to find a driver that does not know the road. AT least private taxi drivers know every corner of Doha
I hope I can get my license so this agony will end. Waiting for a taxi is a bit of an experience.
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Everything happens for a
reason.
karwa taxis availability here in Doha is a problem since day one... everyone knows that but it seemed that they haven't improved their services since then...
I think there is a substantial amount of Karwa taxis, the shortage is in the drivers. Its because I think of the high quota they impose on new drivers some QR265.00 in 11 hours very difficult to meet.
I travel mostly by private cabs now. If you see in places like City Centre and Villagio, you gotta stand in line for a cab, but the there are many private Taxi operators and you can reach wherever you want for a fixed price. And its easier to catch a private cab than a karwa taxi in Qatar. Their call service is more better also, cos I asked for a cab to come to a place once and it never showed up :P
sad... poor driver.
I normally drive and pick those needy passengers (like female kabayans) and bring them to their destinations for a free, and I am afraid now that maybe the CID might suspect me as a private taxi operator. ugh!
""Senior Mowasalat officials have claimed that the problem could be resolved only with completion of the ongoing road projects in the city"" its a big lie...the problem can't be resolved unless they have a well planned system to make karwa & mowasalat move in the city..i think we all know that almost 75% of the karwa taxis are in garage or workshop for repairing...so many of us have seen the karwa junk yard too where they have thrown these taxis...i have seen these karwa drivers driving the taxis...specially in industrial area they drive so rash..all the karwa being in garage is not the result of mechanical problem ,its the result of their rash driving...they don't mind driving offroad...they really screw the cars...private taxi was a good alternate but the officials have started to ban them too...and in the end who is suffering?? the public
he paid QAR2,000 FINE.
hmmp :-S
yep, i used to walk under d sun..if i got fedup w8tin for taxiss...used to do that for 2yrs... hopefully i survived,,,hehehe :p
yeah azi,
before i am waiting for 30-45 minutes under the scorching heat of sun and i pity those persons since I felt before their sufferings.
How can people (with no vehicle of their own) can go from point A to point B when there's not enough taxis? Some would say, "take the bus"? yeah...if you're not in a hurry. And the route is way too long.
From Madinath Khalifa to Alfardan centre(Grand Hamad Street), it'll like more or less an hour BUS ride and with all those turns to here and there.
I think that unless there is substantial and reasonable number of Karwa taxis in the road, these private taxis will still proliferate their way into the city.