Taxi drivers in Dubai are angry at being charged Dh800 for a three-day training course that will also cost them through loss of earnings. Jaime Puebla / The National
Taxi drivers in Dubai are angry at being charged Dh800 for a three-day training course that will also cost them through loss of earnings. Jaime Puebla / The National
Taxi drivers in Dubai are angry at being charged Dh800 for a three-day training course that will also cost them through loss of earnings. Jaime Puebla / The National
Taxi drivers in Dubai are angry at being charged Dh800 for a three-day training course that will also cost them through loss of earnings. Jaime Puebla / The National

Dubai taxi drivers complain at cost of safety course


  • English
  • Arabic

DUBAI // Taxi drivers in Dubai have been ordered to sign up for a new training course, pay the Dh800 fee themselves and lose three days’ earnings while taking part.

The course, run by the Roads and Transport Authority, is intended to improve efficiency, safety and customer services.

The RTA charges the Dh800 fee to the taxi franchise companies. The companies say they already lose Dh850 a day in fares for every driver who is off the road taking the course, and has told cabbies the fee will be deducted from their earnings.

Taxi drivers have no monthly salary. They are paid a commission calculated as a percentage of the amount they take in fares.

“There was a notice in our company saying the training will teach us to behave with customers and to be safe on roads,” said a Pakistani driver from Arabia Taxi who earns between Dh3,500 and Dh3,700 a month. “And that we will have to pay Dh800.

“The training is not necessary for experienced drivers. And even if it is, why charge us?

“We work 12 hours a day, seven days a week to earn this: Dh800 is a lot of money.”

Another Pakistani driver, from Cars Taxi, said: “I have been driving a taxi for the past seven years. I know how to drive. Why do I need training?”

“They will tell us to drive slowly and carefully. We already know this. We are usually given a month’s training when we start the job,” the driver said.

“We have no fixed salary, no gratuity or tickets to go home. It is not right to take our hard-earned money.”

The RTA said the course was aimed at improving services. “The focus is on mapping and location, using meters, a simulator to test their ability to avoid accidents and techniques of customer services,” said Mohammed Janahi, director of the drivers’ affairs department.

“We charge the franchise companies and our cost of training is still the cheapest … around the world. Fees have been determined after careful studies.”

Mr Janahi said the classes would be a refresher course for existing drivers and would be repeated every two years.

Batches of 84 drivers and 145 new recruits take the course, with a test at the end. Drivers who fail have to pay Dh50 to resit.

Taxi companies have asked the RTA to limit the course to drivers with a bad record, and halve the fee.

“We are asking them to reconsider these charges,” said Abdul Razaq, general manager of Cars Taxi. “We have told them the training shouldn’t be compulsory but should be based on a driver’s record of accidents and complaints. They have to clarify who needs retraining.”

Mr Razaq would not explain why his company was passing on the cost to drivers.

“The company is also losing around Dh850 a day in fares. And if it is three days, we lose millions. We have asked them to charge 50 per cent less. We are still waiting for response. We will decide who will bear the cost based on the RTA’s decision.”

pkannan@thenational.ae

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Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km

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Friday

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Saturday

Final practice, 2pm
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Sunday

Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps), 5.10pm

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When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

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17 Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)

18 Stoffe Vandoorne (McLaren)

19 Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)

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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”

Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.

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North Pole stats

Distance covered: 160km

Temperature: -40°C

Weight of equipment: 45kg

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Education reform in Abu Dhabi

 

The emirate’s public education system has been in a constant state of change since the New School Model was launched in 2010 by the Abu Dhabi Education Council. The NSM, which is also known as the Abu Dhabi School Model, transformed the public school curriculum by introducing bilingual education starting with students from grades one to five. Under this new curriculum, the children spend half the day learning in Arabic and half in English – being taught maths, science and English language by mostly Western educated, native English speakers. The NSM curriculum also moved away from rote learning and required teachers to develop a “child-centered learning environment” that promoted critical thinking and independent learning. The NSM expanded by one grade each year and by the 2017-2018 academic year, it will have reached the high school level. Major reforms to the high school curriculum were announced in 2015. The two-stream curriculum, which allowed pupils to elect to follow a science or humanities course of study, was eliminated. In its place was a singular curriculum in which stem -- science, technology, engineering and maths – accounted for at least 50 per cent of all subjects. In 2016, Adec announced additional changes, including the introduction of two levels of maths and physics – advanced or general – to pupils in Grade 10, and a new core subject, career guidance, for grades 10 to 12; and a digital technology and innovation course for Grade 9. Next year, the focus will be on launching a new moral education subject to teach pupils from grades 1 to 9 character and morality, civic studies, cultural studies and the individual and the community.

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Electric scooters: some rules to remember
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What is graphene?

Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.

It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.

Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.

By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.

At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.

It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.

But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.

In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties. 

 

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MATCH INFO

Jersey 147 (20 overs) 

UAE 112 (19.2 overs)

Jersey win by 35 runs

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Director: Dexter Fletcher

Starring: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, Jamie Bell

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars 

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

Breast cancer in men: the facts

1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.

2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash. 

3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible. 

4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key. 

5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor

 

DMZ facts
  • The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
  • It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
  • The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
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  • Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
  • Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile

Started: 2016

Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel 

Based: Ramallah, Palestine

Sector: Technology, Security

# of staff: 13

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Water waste

In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.

Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.

A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.

The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.

RESULTS

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Winner: Fandim, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri

3pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Harbh, Pat Cosgrave, Ahmed Al Mehairbi

3.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Wakeel W’Rsan, Richard Mullen, Jaci Wickham

4pm: Crown Prince of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Jawaal, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri

4.30pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup (TB) Dh200,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer

WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

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  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
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  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog

Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha

Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude

Holiday destination: Sri Lanka

First car: VW Golf

Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters

Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars