Sunday, October 19, 2014

New Taxi Company and the taxi service in Doha



I have not used taxis for a half year or so . Last week I needed one very much .I had to arrange some official papers and come back .Booking taxis is still a nightmare .The first day I called around 6 am but they were fully booked .I had to cancel my trip to the office . The same evening I called them to book a taxi for the coming day . Fully booked - you need to book 48 hours in advance -was the answer .
Is this a service ? We were promised some years ago to get taxis within 15 minutes wherever our location is due to the new technology . As some private taxi companies have been doing so in India for years .
Things are not improving just the opposite . In the past there used to be a line in front of the taxi stations at malls . I was waiting more than two hours with two little kids on the day before Eid at Landmark . The line was just there but the supervisor couldn't care less . Some people just jumped the queue and he let them take the cabs from those whose turn came . When I asked him to mind his job then he offered me a taxi with a Filipino male passenger already in ." he will go to the Villaggio first -then takes you home " No -thanks - I want a taxi just for me and my kids ." Taxi drivers themselves came and looked at the passengers then making faces deciding if they want or not this or that person . It is a complete chaos - the lack of supervision make these drivers behave like they are the kings of the transportation and we poor citizens who wish to travel in their car we should be happy an thankful if they are ready to take us to our desired location .
The silver lining is that new taxi companies come - the newest one is The Capital -they have 500 cars and charcoal-gray roof . They can be called through Karwa call center( 4458888)  - many of their cars will operate in smaller towns outside Doha .

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