DOHA: The long and tiresome wait for a cab could come to an end in Qatar, at least for a major segment of the population, with introduction of a new service that allows people to hail a cab using their mobile phones.
The service will be available on all smart phones in Qatar by 2012, a senior official of Mowasalat said yesterday.
"Social media, particularly mobile phones are now changing the lives of the people all over the world. They can also become a tool for changing the transport scenario in any country. We find this new service as a way of deregulating the transport system in Qatar and making it closer to the people," Dr Nasser Al Khanji, strategic director of Mowasalat told The Peninsula, on the sidelines of a regional conference on public transport that concluded here yesterday.
Earlier, he gave a presentation on the new project. Interestingly, the idea was inspired by the role that social media has been playing in the mass uprisings in the Arab world, Al Khanji said.
Currently, people in Qatar have to wait by the road, a taxi rank or a public place to catch a cab. The waiting time would depend on the availability of taxis in that area. The other option is to book a taxi through Karwa's call center and wait impatiently until the cab arrives. The new service, once operational would help the passengers get rid of all such hassles, claimed Al Khanji.
A special application on the mobile phone will allow the user to hail a taxi by just pushing a button and watching the cab heading to his location through the Global Positioning System (GPS).
"This is a system that is identical to the TaxiRadar service available in countries like the US. Once you push the relevant button on your mobile phone, you will be able to see up to 10 cabs on the road closest to you in real time. You can directly communicate with any of the drivers by pushing a single button. Then you can see the cab in real time as it heads towards your location, which removes much of the anxiety while waiting," said Al Khanji.
Drivers who already have a passenger will not respond to the call until he drops that passenger. The customer can cancel a booking, by just pushing the cancel button. "This service helps you to hail a cab any time at any place and reduce the waiting time significantly. This will also make the taxi service more viable by reducing the running time," added Al Khanji.
Asked about the shortage of taxis in Qatar, the official said Mowasalat was working on a long term plan to increase the number of taxis in Qatar by up to 8,000 by the time FIFA World Cup is held in 2022. This will be achieved in a phased manner.
© The Peninsula 2011
