Green taxi users complain of getting into arguments with staff; As a result of their refusal to calculate the fare for the trip with the meter, which is an explicit violation that requires accountability.
Ghazi Muhammad – one of the taxi users – says that some drivers insist on calculating the cost of the trip by agreement, especially if the trip is to Makkah Al-Mukarramah. it may reach 20%; According to their sayings, what makes the trip come to them with loss!.
According to his experience with taxis, Abdul Rahman says; The alternative is caddies, and on the other hand, there is an exaggeration in prices, especially from those who practice the activity in a manner that violates the original and exaggerates the imposition of prices, and they justify this with the peak of the season and the large number of requests to deliver rides to Mecca or Medina, for some of them calculate the delivery to Medina at no less than 600 riyals, Especially if the customer has bags.
Going without return
“Noha” narrates her experience with taxi drivers, and says that she uses taxis belonging to delivery application companies, and the driver – often – gives her the choice between calculating the fare for the trip by agreement or by meter, especially for Makkah trips, and it reaches 120 riyals by agreement, not by meter, and “Saja Abdullah” says that when she leaves From the airport, heading to Makkah Al-Mukarramah, the taxi driver told her not to use the meter, and that delivery to Makkah amounts to 300 riyals. Saja hopes to tighten control over drivers to oblige them to use the meter.
And one of the workers in the taxi sector – who preferred not to be named – says that the cost of the fare in agreement with customers is much better than calculating the trip with the meter. Because the financial return of the meter is not feasible – according to him – for example, connecting a trip to Makkah Al-Mukarramah, in agreement with the customer, amounts to 200 riyals one way without return.
A worker in the taxi delivery sector suggests that taxi operating companies reconsider the value of the deducted percentage. Because the majority of workers see it as high and useless, and it is better to agree with the customer on a specific price.
In another opinion, one of the workers in the taxi delivery sector says: He works in delivery according to the meter, and that he has not yet encountered any customer who wants to calculate the fare except by the meter.
The passenger is the victim of the driver
Lawyer and legal advisor Hisham Hanbouli says: The competent legal authorities seek to regulate the work of taxis of all kinds. This is by issuing the necessary regulations, instructions, and directives, and then imposing appropriate penalties and penalties, including those related to taxi meters because of their necessity to preserve the rights of the passenger and driver alike. However, some drivers used to deliberately neglect the use of the meter and content themselves with agreeing with the passenger on the price and fare of the trip, and a fine is imposed on the driver for this violation. The system considered that the passenger is the victim of the driver and that the driver imposed the fare on him far from the meter, assuming that the prevailing cases are that the agreement is higher than what the meter might monitor in all cases. monitored by the counter.
Therefore, it may be difficult to control such violations even if a plate is placed in the car stating that the trip will be free for the passenger if the driver does not adhere to the meter. Because the passenger himself may not accept the use of the meter.
Raise awareness
Lawyer Hanbouly believes that the basis for solving this problem is to raise the level of awareness among passengers and drivers alike to accept the culture of using the meter, and that all taxis of different types be through electronic applications instead of walking in the streets to catch passengers, and if taxis are priced according to The way the applications are less than others, perhaps this was a reason for the demand for them, as is happening now in the cars of the applications currently operating.
In general, it is related to the degree of awareness of all taxi users, drivers and passengers, and this can be through awareness programs and informational and advertising bulletins through audio and visual media.
No harm done
Economic writer Talaat Hafez says that when the decision was issued to impose meters in taxis to calculate the fare, this did not come as a matter of absurdity, since these meters are smart meters that calculate the value of the fare in a smart and fair way for both parties (the customer and the owner of the fare), and therefore there is no harm or harm, This is what is followed, applied, and implemented in all countries of the world, which will remove the customer’s suspicion that he has been wronged in the value of the fare, as well as the reality of the situation for the taxi owner, since the fare for the trip is calculated in an accurate and intelligent way.
However, some of the parties may not like to adhere to the counter; Thinking that the fare may be better for both parties, and this is a big mistake, and as I mentioned, its calculation is accurate, far from randomness and wrong judgment, even if it was done by mutual consent, because it does not achieve the desired goal, whether civilized or related to fair pricing, especially with regard to long rides and crowded roads. Which is interspersed with many stops, either due to traffic congestion or because of the large number of traffic lights, especially since some of the meters work with artificial intelligence in a way that calculates the fare, taking into account all variables.
As for delivery applications, Talaat Hafez sees setting up a system for them that is also related to distance measurement, so that pricing prices are linked to distances. It is not reasonable that the delivery price for a distance of one kilometer, for example, is the same as the delivery price for a distance of ten kilometers or more. Thus, a meter in delivery applications measures the distance and determines the value and price of delivery. In advance, and this will be beneficial to the stakeholders away from diligence and randomness.
3000 riyals fine
The official spokesman for the Public Authority for Transport, Saleh Al-Zuwaid, explained to “Okaz” that the authority’s field teams are present around the clock to ensure that taxi vehicles comply with the application of regulations and requirements. Whether in the use of the meter or other technical equipment, with the application of a fine of 3000 riyals for not operating the meter for calculating the transportation fare at the start of the trip.
Al-Zuwaid confirmed that more than 31,000 inspections were carried out in the Makkah Al-Mukarramah region during the first two weeks of the holy month of Ramadan, and a number of violations were detected, most notably the driver’s failure to adhere to the approved uniform while performing the work, and the lack of care for the technical condition of the car and its maintenance, in addition to the lack of requirements. Safety depending on the type of vehicle.
Zain Ambar zain_ambar, commemoration of peace Zekraalsolami (Jeddah)