No clarity yet on taxi fare meters

Will orange and white taxis in Oman have electronic fare meters from June as announced earlier this year? As per the ministerial decision No 195/2018, the installation of meters in orange and white taxis is mandatory from June 2019 with fares to be charged as decided by the government. Asyad had opened a tender for the supply of taxi meters under which the contractor shall enter into a five-year agreement for the implementation of the project. The service contracts with individual taxi drivers are for the supply, installation and maintenance of the taxi meters. The contractor will be paid for their services by the taxi drivers.

When asked, a number of taxi operators told the Observer that they are waiting for further clarification as only few days left for the actual deadline set by the government for its implementation. “We keep getting queries from fellow taxi operators as well as from passengers, but there has not been much information in this regard,” said Mohammed, a Qurayat-based driver who operates a taxi in Muscat. Muttasim, a tour guide, said, “We have been waiting for this system to be implemented at the earliest. Sometimes, we need to negotiate with taxi operators very badly over fares for our clients. If we get a metered fare system, there is no need for any confusion.”

He added that most of the clients expect an organised metered taxi system in an advanced city like Muscat, similar to other places. Currently, commuters in Oman have options to avail metered taxis from on-demand operators like Mwasalat (including airport taxi), Marhaba, Careem and Otaxi. According to government guidelines, taxi drivers and passengers can have a prior agreement on the fare, but still electronic meter has to be turned on during a trip. The trip will be ‘deemed free’ if the driver refuses to turn on the meter. The fare has been fixed at 300 baisa at the start of the trip, after which customers will be charged 130 baisa for every km.

A minimum of RO 1 will be charged for each trip from June. In case of multiple passengers, fares shall be divided among them. Waiting charges will be 50 baisa per minute, while the first five minutes will be free. The taxi driver is obliged to operate the meter at the start of the journey. “We are currently operating as per the fare structured approved by the government, but need to have more clarity on the new fare structure from June,” said Ziad, who is associated with a popular on-demand services.

This article originally appeared on: http://www.omanobserver.om/taxi-operators-say-no-clarity-yet-on-fares/