Seventy owners of pickup trucks used for public transportation have signed a petition demanding equal licensing rights as taxis.
They claim that while they are registered by the Transportation and Telecommunication Ministry to use their private vehicles for public transportation they are not given the same privileges as traditional taxis such as proper identification labels.
The owners said they were losing business because the only form of identification they had on their vehicles was a circle on the driver and passenger doors with a registration number of it.
Their petition is being studied by a parliamentary bloc, the Bahrain Bloc headed by MP Ahmed Al Salloom, who is also a board member of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).
Popular
Mr Salloom told the GDN that the bloc has drawn up a proposal to allow registered pickup trucks to operate with the same rights as other taxis.
“Traditional pickup trucks are popular among the local community, but many new expats moving to Bahrain or tourists don’t realise that these are registered taxis,” he said.
“This service has been on offer for decades at popular destinations like the Old Manama Suq, Gudaibiya, Hoora, Hamad Town, Muharraq, Riffa and Isa Town, and is still there.
“Under a 2017 rule by the Transportation and Telecommunication Ministry every taxi service, public or private, is obliged to have official identification and signage, except for pickup trucks.
Pickup trucks in the UAE are given taxi identifications
“We don’t know why the pickup trucks have been left out of the rule as it is harming their business.
“Some might argue that the circle with numbers makes it obvious that these pickup trucks are official taxis, but it is not obvious to everyone.”
He said the proposal has been referred to parliament chairwoman Fouzia Zainal to be reviewed by the relevant parliamentary committee.
“Hopefully, we won’t have to wait for parliament to reconvene in October to discuss this proposal, if an amendment to the ministry’s decision is made directly,” he added.
“It will certainly mean a lot to the families of those pick-up drivers who would be making more business at a time when competition is at its peak in a tight industry.”
Bahraini Abdulhussain Al Ras Rumani, who has been designated as spokesman for the group of pickup truck owners, told the GDN they were struggling to stay afloat because people did not trust they were legitimate taxis.
“We are exactly 100 owners so giving us taxi labels won’t be difficult,” he said.
“The pickup service, despite its popularity, is dying because GCC nationals and expats don’t trust we are offering legitimate taxi services and many force us to reduce the price and we accept because we are desperate to feed our families.
“We make an average of BD25 a day, and this is for working 16 hours.
“This move will enable us to double this amount.”
The GDN has approached the Transportation and Telecommunication Ministry for a response.
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
© Copyright 2019 www.gdnonline.com
Copyright 2019 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
