Love the convenience of Careem over a flag-it-down taxi? We, we have some news that may change your mind.
The e-hail service is about to get a little bit more expensive.
It has been announced that from today onwards, you’ll now automatically pay an extra Dhs3 fee when using Careem in Dubai.
Why? Because the RTA has announced that they “are now applying a fee on all rides taken with app-based ride-hailing platforms”.
Now while Dhs3 isn’t a huge amount, that small fee will start to stack up if you’re an avid Careem user.
While Uber didn’t confirm as much in a statement, they did hint that the fee could be imposed on them in the next three months.
“We recently signed an agreement with the RTA and part of this partnership is a three-month study, exclusive to Uber, that will look at launching an economy solution,” the statement said.
“Fees are a necessary part of the new regulations, and the exact pricing will be determined during the study – our goal is to make the Uber product accessible to everyone from a both a rider and driver standpoint.”
THINGS MAY BE DIFFERENT VERY SOON ANYWAY…
Dubai, being the ever-evolving city it is, has a plan in place to make 25 per cent of the city’s transport network smart and driverless by 2030.
Careem have already teamed up with NEXT Future Transportation to launch battery-powered electric pods in the Middle East.
A release date has not yet been set, but these neat little pods can drive either individually or attached to other pods to form a bus-like structure.
Passengers are picked up on demand and taken to their destination via the best route possible.
Read:
Saudi Prince Says It’s Time To Let Women To Drive
Let Women Drive To Enable Progress, UN Expert Urges Saudi Arabia
RTA Taxis Will Soon Be Bookable Through Careem App
PREFER TO DRIVE YOURSELF?
If you’re not a fan of the chauffeur lifestyle, then you could be interested in a just-announced new scheme in Dubai.
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority has launched the Smart Rental Services, a programme which lets motorists rent a vehicle for no more than six hours at a time.
Starting up with a 200-car-strong fleet, you can rent a car for between 40 of 50 fils per minute all around Dubai.
That’s only Dhs24 to Dhs30 per hour (the cost varies depending how long you rent the car for, and where you drop it off).
So where can you find one of the short-term cars? Well, they’ll be at 45 locations across Dubai, including five metro stations (Rashidiya, Burjuman, Ibn Battuta, Union, and Business Bay).
However we do have some bad news – there are parts of the city which aren’t covered, namely Dubai Media City, Internet City, Knowledge Village and Deira Fish Market.
Image: Getty
