The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched the Taxi Services Excellence Award to honour the best taxi company and top ten model drivers in a bid to uplift the caliber of services offered to taxi users.

H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA, said: “The award seeks to nurture a competitive environment amongst taxi franchise companies in a bid to achieve the highest standards of quality & excellent services and up the traffic safety levels; which will accordingly pave the way for bringing happiness of our clientele. The award also intends to motivate franchise companies, foster the values of innovation, excellence and job compliance amongst targeted firms, in addition to improving customers service level, enhancing the efficiency & attitudes of cabdrivers, and upgrading the efficiency of services provided by franchise companies. The RTA is always keen to uplift the caliber of taxi service in Dubai, including capitalizing on modern & smart technologies to meet the needs of various customers especially under the current Dubai drive to transform Dubai into a smart city capable of bringing happiness to residents and visitors.”

Smart Training

“The best three taxi companies in Dubai will be decorated on annual basis (Gold, Silver and Bronze Categories), and the winner of the Gold Category will be offered a complimentary permanent taxi plate, priority in the technical assessment when bidding for buying taxi plates in addition to a grand trophy and a certificate of appreciation. 10 model drivers will be felicitated annually; each of them will be awarded 20 thousand dirham. The RTA will apply the Star Rating System of the ‘Dubai Model’ to taxi companies in the context of supporting the strategic drive of the Dubai Government in improving customers experience and bringing happiness to people,” added Al Tayer.

“Taxicabs are vital for the daily movement of people in the Emirate of Dubai and the number of people who used taxi services in Dubai during the first half of last year exceeded 217.751 million riders lifted in 108.875 million trips. The RTA is continuously working to upgrade taxi services and launched last year the Drivers Qualification Center at Al Rawiyya; the first smart training center for training taxi drivers of franchise companies and on-demand limo taxis in the Emirate of Dubai operated under the supervision of RTA’s Public Transport Agency with the aim of improving taxi services and the quality of passenger services towards achieving the ultimate objective of making customers happier,” explained Al Tayer.

Standards

The RTA has set specific standards for selecting the best taxi franchise company which include: compliance with environmental standards and using environment-friendly vehicles; role of the management in supporting the provision of work processes and resources essential for improving the level of services and efficiency of drivers of the company; periodic training plans & programs dedicated to raising the efficiency, abilities and skills of drivers; role of the  company in raising the awareness of cabbies and enforcing their compliance with traffic & safety systems; creative procedures & activities undertaken to diffuse the traffic awareness amongst cabbies, traffic safety standards in place to curb offences and traffic accidents; community participations and private partnerships in traffic awareness and safety programs with the aim of communicating relevant deliverables to the community; quality and safety of the company’s taxicabs from a technical perspective; improvement initiatives oriented to drivers and services provided to them; drivers performance review method; achieving customers satisfaction; processes of addressing customers complaints; response to instructions & stipulations of entities regulating the activities of franchise companies in Dubai; attitudes of cabbies & their compliance with work ethics & general appearance; and response to calls received from the Call center of Public Transport Agency.

Model Driver
 

The standards set for selecting the Model Driver include: record of traffic offences & accidents attributed to the driver; number of complaints received against the driver from customers; driver’s compliance with the instructions of the company and health, safety and quality standards (administrative violations record); the proportion of productive kilometers against wasted kilometers; improvement ideas contributed by the driver; daily & monthly income rates generated by the driver; procedures & initiatives made by the driver for conserving assets of the company; compliance of the driver with the work ethics and general appearance; driver’s cooperation with RTA’s inspectors; results of the mysterious shopper in respect of the nominated driver at a rate of three visits per nominee; thanks & appreciation messages received from customers in respect of the driver; and the lapse of at least one year for the driver in the service of the company in order to be eligible for nomination to the Award.

Judges Panel

The judges panel comprises representatives from the General Directorate of Traffic in Dubai Police, a Dubai-based media representative, representative of the local community (public figure), representatives of Public Transport Agency as well as Development & Corporate Excellence Department, and Customers Service Department.

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