For people who live in the UAE, there are quite a few public transportation methods available such as taxis, metro and buses. Moreover, one can also use ride-hailing services such as Uber or Careem. However, some used car owners have also started their own transport “business” and operate illegally.
In the UAE, the local police authorities and the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) carried out an extensive campaign against unlicensed vehicle owners offering car lift, taxi and limousine services. Such actions violate several traffic and law violations and repeat offenders will have to face severe consequences.
As of June 2019, the Abu Dhabi police has fined 1,500 motorists for operating illegal taxis in the Capital. According to the Abu Dhabi police, they clamped down on 1, 573 cars after the private used car owners were caught transporting the passengers from Abu Dhabi roads to different areas.
The motorists were mostly caught by undercover officers who worked in unison with the traffic police to crack down on the offenders as they were picking up passengers across Abu Dhabi.
Colonel Mubarak Awad bin Mahiroum, director of the transport security department at the Abu Dhabi Police stated that such practices are highly illegal, uncivilised and greatly endanger the safety of the citizens who travel in these unlicensed taxis.
“Some of the drivers of these illegal taxis may not be having licences issued by the UAE authorities and while others are staying in the country illegally,” the Colonel clarified.
The police investigations find that most of the illegal taxis are driven by the owners themselves and the others are driven by drivers employed by the owners.
The authorities have taken a strong stance against illegal cabbies and are firmly educating the public about the dangerous side of such practices.
Illegal taxis usually transport the passengers from Abu Dhabi to the outer parts of Musaffah city, Shabiyah, Bani Yas, Muhammad Bin Zayed city or other areas during the weekend and in the morning and evening times.
It has also been noted that the cars are mostly driven by Asian men who charge as low as AED 10 for one person with a maximum of 4 riders at a time.
The police have urged the community to help them erase this hazardous occurrence by reporting any suspicious activity.
As per the Federal Traffic Laws, the penalty for operating illegal taxi services includes a fine of AED 3,000, loss of 24 traffic points and seizure of the vehicle for 30 days.
Whether you’ve decided to buy a car to avoid illegal cabbies or to upgrade your car, check out CarSwitch.com’s extensive catalogue of certified, warrantied and pre-inspected used cars for sale. Happy shopping!
