Muscat - The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) is working to introduce meters in ‘orange taxis’ in line with the best international practices.
The ministry said that it is coordinating with stakeholders to come out with regulations governing the management of orange taxis. “There is a proposal to introduce meters in this type of service (orange taxis) as currently in practice in a number of GCC countries and many countries around the world.”
The ministry has prepared an integrated plan to streamline the running of orange taxis which is based on maintaining the ownership of current owners of the vehicles.
MoTC further said that around 500 taxis are now operating under Marhaba, representing 90 per cent of the target.
The ministry also called on Mwasalat to speed up its process for the metered taxi service and urged taxi operators at Muscat International Airport and commercial centres to join Mwasalat.
The ministry has taken several measures recently to streamline taxi service in Muscat governorate. As part of these measures, the ministry granted two licences for operating taxi services in Muscat.
The first licence was granted to Mwasalat Taxi for operating service at Muscat airport and malls. The second was granted to Marhaba Taxi to operate service at hotels and Port Sultan Qaboos. Both companies are licensed to offer on-demand services.
The ministry has said that orange taxi operators will not be allowed to offer their services at the locations assigned to the two companies and on-demand service unless they operate under the licensed companies.
© Muscat Daily 2017
