by YASIN ABU TAQIU
DOHA: Taxi users in Qatar are becoming increasingly wary of drivers and accuse them of being rude and greedy.
Commuters are angry that the drivers, even those of official franchise companies, have not been given any training at all in the field of customer care and companies have left them to tamper with the meters, choosing when to use them and when not to.
“The drivers act like they are doing charity taking in customers and that even after overcharging us,” said Ivan Nayaka, a regular commuter.
“Sometimes they are rude to you while entering their cab, and on the way, they will keep telling you how they don’t want to take such and such a route and how their taking you was part of their good heart. Meanwhile, they will charge you double of what is supposed to be the right trip fare.”
Mohammed Khatri, another commuter, said one of the signs that a taxi driver is going to cheat or overcharge is when he exaggerates the distance, even a shorter one, and claims that if he uses the meter it will be more money.
Cabbies also test the knowledge of the customer about the destination and if a commuter is not aware of the destination, they would demand more fare.
Commuters were helpless in most of these situations because almost all taxi drivers are doing the same, according another commuter who identified himself as Pererra.
“You could ask one taxi to go and you wait for another one but he also asks for something similar or even a bigger fare,” he said.
He said that there were also instances when the waiting for taxis takes long and in the day heat, one cannot risk asking a taxi to go and wait for another one. He said that it hurt after a long wait to have a taxi driver show up and tell you that he didn’t know the location, adding that it was essential that taxi companies give some training to their drivers about the locations or equip taxis with an electronic map.
Some passengers of African origins reported waiting longer and several Asian taxi drivers avoided taking them.
“There have been a few cases where some West African men misbehaved in these taxis, like refusing to pay but the problem was blown out of proportion and they have victimized all Africans,” said Kassim Muwonge, an African expatriate.
“It’s not true that taxi drivers have been victims of misbehaviour by only African passengers. Many Asians or Arabs sometimes misbehave but their nationalities are not as stigmatised as those of the Africans.”
Amin Salem, another resident and regular commuter, said the problem was not with drivers. It is mostly a problem created by the owners of taxi companies who have failed to regulate their employees’ behaviour and poor services.
“These companies have no excuse to leave their employees to mistreat the people that provide them with an income,” he said. “If they don’t know how to regulate their staff, they should take some lessons from neighbouring countries where taxi drivers are disciplined, do not tamper with their meters and follow them strictly.”
Some drivers defended their actions and said they were working under extreme pressure on heavily trafficked roads to raise their daily income target.
Another driver said some drivers tampered with their meters to earn more. According to him, these would be the only drivers willing to use the meter and it would still be much expensive for a commuter than a negotiated fare. Drivers also complained that their companies were renting taxis to them on a high daily payment, leaving them with very little as income.
The Peninsula
