ABU DHABI // The capital's taxi shortage will be eased at the end of the month when 270 Mercedes Vito Compact minivans hit the roads, the Abu Dhabi taxi regulator said on Tuesday.
They will complement the 35 vans that went into service two months ago.
But like many new ventures, there have been growing pains, although the Centre for Regulation of Transport by Hire Cars (TransAD) has ironed out some minor kinks.
“The first few minivans were OK, but the quality was not that good so we had to make some changes that were aesthetic in nature,” said TransAd manager Mohammed Al Qamzi.
“The 270 minivans are all here in Abu Dhabi but we had some minor issues with the floor and seat partitions. They’re comfortable and safe but we wanted to make sure that the car’s interior looked good, neat and of high quality.”
The taxis, which each cost more than Dh130,000, have leather seats and can carry five passengers. They run on eco-friendly green diesel and are wheelchair-friendly, using special ramps and fitted with special locks to secure them.
Compared to the silver Toyota Camrys, the operating costs of Mercedes Vito Compact minivans are higher in terms of maintenance, repair and fuel consumption, said Ali Yousef, franchise manager at Al Ghazal Transport. However, there are no plans to charge more for travel in the vans.
The vans are equipped with safety features and come with sound-proof glass. They have an easy-to-use intercom system for communications between the passenger and driver.
Initially, three franchise companies will operate the fleet. National Taxi will have 111 vehicles, Arabia Taxi 88 and Al Ghazal 71. Three other franchises – Emirates Taxi, Cars Taxi and Tawasul – have yet to acquire any of the vehicles.
There were initially some issues with taxi drivers who were not keen on driving the minivans when they were first launched, Mr Al Qamzi said.
“The companies picked the best drivers but almost all of them didn’t want to drive this car,” he said. “Why? People don’t know anything about the car and if these taxis are out on the street, the drivers think no one will flag them down and this will affect their commission.”
But that has changed, he said.
“Now, drivers are fighting to drive a Compact Vito,” he said. “It’s a matter of getting customers acquainted with the service. There were a few cases of customers in a taxi queue who declined to ride them, thinking they’re as expensive as airport taxis.”
The flagfall for the new taxis is Dh3.50. For airport taxi vans, the fare starts at Dh25.
“Looking at the figures now, these new taxis have started to earn very good revenue, better than we expected,” Mr Al Qamzi said. “When there’s a holiday and peak time at the airport, we send them there to augment the existing airport fleet, so taxi drivers are happy because of the Dh25 flagfall.”
Mr Yousef agreed, saying: “We’re happy to report that we’re getting good revenue. We now have 31 Compact Vitos and by the end of this month, all 71 vehicles will be out on the road. Our drivers who are sent to the airport are earning well.”
If given the chance, Elsa Fortuna, a driver of a family taxi, said she would like to drive one of the Vito Compact minivans. "For three years, I've been driving this Toyota Innova, and more and more people are now aware that a family taxi is not only for families but for women and couples," she said.
“We also charge the same fare as the silver taxis.”
Men can travel in family taxis if they are with their families, but are not allowed to hail them if travelling alone.
“I see a few Compact Vito cars while I’m out on the road and they need to market it better to attract more customers,” she said.
“My fellow taxi drivers shouldn’t worry about not hitting their targets. They just need to work hard and help TransAD promote these new taxis.”
rruiz@thenational.ae