Dubai launches e-Taxi service for hotels

By Elsa Baxter  www.arabianbusiness.com

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched an online taxi booking service for the emirate’s hotels.

The e-Taxi service will be made available to the public by the end of this year, transport officials said on Tuesday.

Taxis can be booked 24 hours a day through the online portal, but the service is currently only available for hotels, a statement said.

“The RTA is always seeking to implement Dubai e-Government electronic applications through capitalising on the world’s top-notch technological solutions,” said Essa Abdul-Rahman Al Dosari, CEO of Public Transport Agency.

“The online taxi booking service is based on having the customer’s details and address saved in the Dispatch system at the Public Transport Agency; which makes it easy to process the booking in subsequent times.”

Al Dosari said the online service would dramatically cut the number of calls to the dispatch section, in turn reducing working hours of call centre staff, and customer waiting times.

He said he expected the uptake among the public to be good considering the high number of internet users in the emirate.