DOHA: Several taxi drivers in Doha have complained that they have been hit hard by the paid parking system introduced at the Doha International Airport a few months ago.
The Al Sharq daily, which took reactions from Qatari nationals and expatriates about the new system has pointed out that cabbies are the worst hit by the QR4 fee charged per hour for parking in the shaded parking area at the airport premises.
Several people, quoted by the paper in a report published yesterday criticised that the new system was introduced for making profit without considering how it benefits the people. Some described it as a "smart trap" since there is no sign showing the way out from the parking area.
"The fee is the same whether you park for one minute or one hour. This will cost the taxi drivers heavily since they are forced to pay the fee even if they just enter the airport premises to drop the passengers.
"Four riyals is a big amount for them considering their low income," said Osman Omar, one of the respondents.
The paper quoted a taxi-driver as saying, "Once I had to wait for a passenger for four hours at the parking area. Finally he paid me QR20 as taxi fares out of which I had to give QR16 as parking fee."
A Pakistani taxi driver told The Peninsula yesterday that, after the new system was introduced, many cabbies opt to drop the passengers on the road outside the parking area to avoid the fee.
Mundir Mohiuddin, another respondent said, the parking fee at the Doha International Airport is higher compared to airports in several other Arab capitals.
"I have visited 10 Arab capitals. Some of them have paid parking facility at the airports while some don't have. But nowhere the fee is as higher as in Doha," Mundir said.
He proposed to build a separate free parking area near the airport premises, apart from the paid parking facility.
Another respondent proposed to fix the charges against the real time used by the vehicles at the parking area. " In the current system, if you spend one hour and one minute, you will have to pay the charges for two hours. This is unjustifiable," he said.
Several respondents hailed the move saying that it had helped reduce the rush at the parking area. "Now one can easily find a parking space almost all the time," said a resident.
© The Peninsula 2004
