DOHA: A prominent member of the Central Municipal Council (CMC) has asked taxi operating companies to set up hotlines for commuter complaints against drivers.
Taxi drivers are becoming law unto themselves, is the general impression among users, many of whom say they feel helpless and don’t know where to lodge complaints.
CMC member, Mubarak Fraish, said he received complaints from many people and held a meeting with operating companies to raise their concerns.
“The first thing I told these companies was that they set up hotlines to receive passenger complaints, particularly against drivers.”
Fraish told local Arabic daily Al Raya in remarks published yesterday that setting up hotlines could address the problem to a great extent.
Under the current system, commuter complaints are routed to Karwa, which refers them to the companies concerned, and they hardly respond.
Fraish said taxis must also have identification numbers which should be displayed prominently so that people can cite it to lodge complaints.
Taxi companies, he said, were responsive to his suggestions and showed understanding.
Another councillor, Mohamed Faisal Al Shahwani, said the responsibility to discipline drivers lay with taxi companies.
There are many commuter complaints and these must be addressed, he said.
One of the main problems a commuter faces is that taxis don’t normally entertain short-distance passengers, he said.
Another problem is that cabbies drive in high speed on internal roads which can be dangerous.
CMC member from Umm Salal, Ahmed Al Sheeb, said the blame for the problem of drivers misbehaving with commuters and exploiting them lay with taxi companies.
The behaviour of these drivers is by now a much talked-about thing and a matter of concern.
What is needed is that taxi companies should raise their employee strength and subject their drivers to some kind of monitoring, he said.
Taxis are the main mode of transport for an increasing number of people, so they must have easy access to them, suggested Al Sheeb.
A national, Saleh Al Marri, meanwhile, said in his view companies giving away taxis to drivers on daily rentals instead of employing them on monthly salaries is the main reason behind cabbies misbehaving with passengers and exploiting them.
“Once a driver gets a taxi on a day’s rent whereby he must pay a fixed sum to the company, he thinks he owns the vehicle and can operate it the way he wants,” said Al Marri. “This must stop.”
The Peninsula
