Accepting a lift?
Yesterday my son who is 17 and 2 of his friends of same age, one male and one female were trying to flag down a taxi in Al Wakrah. My son said about 4 or 5 cars pulled over to offer them a lift. As we have been brought up in a never accept a lift from a stranger culture, does that apply here too?? Or are these offers of lifts genuine??
You never ever take a ride with strangers.
It only takes a SINGLE MISTAKE before you regret this decision for the rest of your life.
This is a NO-NO!
I actually did this today and had a bit of a scare when I realized that it wasn't even a private driver on their off hours-it was just a young guy driving a friends car. It could have gone very badly, but fortunately, he was a good guy. This was discussed with a friend who told me that her maid of a few years ago, along with a friend were, taken in such a situation and the one girl escaped in a roundabout-the other one was raped brutally.(is there any other way?).
I think that I will be careful to call trusted drivers or Karwa from now on, even if I have to wait a while or pay more. As a middle aged Muslim woman I am likely to be less harrassed than the cute young Philipina's dressed for a night out, but I am still female, still western and whatever-that is not a risk I wish to take.
I would urge all to take caution with this situation, especially when any woman is involved.
No its illegal, but i think you need to be patience for Taxi since they very few passing on that area.
have learnt an awful lot thanks to you all and at least the kids can pass on to their friends at school too:)
well I want my self or any one of my family go with them . Not because they are from another culture , but also its dangerous . How do you know how they drive ????
even this service is illegal in Qatar , and if the police stopped them there is fine payment .
well I want my self or any one of my family go with them . Not because they are from another culture , but also its dangerous . How do you know how they drive ????
even this service is illegal in Qatar , and if the police stopped them there is fine payment .
to give rides on their off time.
They supplement their income.
And yes it is illegal.
Not everyone in a thobe or an abaya is Qatari. There are some who use national dress for their own ends, including trying to intimidate or influence others.
I experienced the same once dropped my car to Mitsubishi in Wakra. They are not local, most of them are from Sudan, Egypt, Oman etc. As per the law this practice is illegal, but for us there is no harm to go with them, as they will charge you a very low rate. I was surprised once he asked me only 5 QR from Wakra to Doha.
those private taxis. As always, exercise good judgment!
well my son and his friends came to their own conclusion and that was why I thought I would discuss on here, I don't want them to think that every country is the same and also, I did not want for them to insult anyone local for not accepting a lift!!
I am happy now to tell my son and his friends that its harmless so don't worry, however, its illegal so don't do it:)
You have to be careful in a country where there are lots of gays .
I am afraid.... I would be a bit nervous allowing my teenagers to get into cars with strangers. Although, it would probably be harmless, there is always the exception to the rule...
and not in a good way!!!
Young, white , male/female ....
Don't risk a lift from strangers..... It is also illegal...
Young men and attractive females may be targets of unwanted advances by these "private taxi drivers" - it doesn't happen often but it can. Better to stick with Karwa - at least they can be identified if they behave inappropriately.
yes diane, you are right... unfortunately, the rules don't give us much options and neither does the country...
aah yes of course. Think its best to continue as we do - wait wait wait for a taxi which seems a lot less of them around in last few months!
just one thing... i've heard that it is illegal... If a Lakhwaya catches you, your son and his friends would probably get fined and so will the driver...They consider that if the lifts became a common thing, anyone in Qatar would do it in his spare time and you would be taking money out of the Karwa ... It's worth to ask about it; try the website www.moi.gov.qa
Thank you for this, its really useful as its happened many times before and they thought it was odd and have never accepted a lift.
Nothing in life other then Air we breath is free.
Usually private taxis stop, however, if it is a guy in disdash, maybe he is look-a-like local (domestic driver) or a young local looking to make friends.
What is the harm. Your son and friends are three and the guy offering the lift is one so they can protect themselves. - Just my opinion.
wht evr its not free !!
They were local guys in dish dash
Aah okay, thank you Pilgram.
They are private taxis
They're genuine. Your son and his friends would have had to give them 10 or 20 riyal though.