Dubai’s taxi sector has seen a significant increase in activity during the first half of 2024.
More than 55.7 million trips were logged between January and June, up by nearly 500,000 from the same period last year. Passenger numbers also rose from 96.2 million to 96.9 million.
The number of taxi drivers has grown from 26,000 to 30,000, while the fleet expanded by 644 vehicles, reaching a total of 12,778 taxis.
Adel Shakri, Director of Planning and Business Development at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), highlighted the success of the e-hail service, Hala Taxi.
He said that e-bookings now make up 40 per cent of all taxi journeys, a 5 per cent increase from last year. Additionally, 76 per cent of Hala rides had an average vehicle arrival time of under 3.5 minutes, improving on last year’s 73 per cent.
Sharjah Police have arrested a motorist who racked up 137 traffic violations and fines totalling over AED 104,000, all while using forged licence plates to evade detection.
Economic and developmental cooperation topped the agenda during discussions between His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa.
The UAE and Lebanon have agreed to enhance cooperation in key sectors, including economic and investment, "through joint opportunities, knowledge exchange and government development".
The UAE's President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have held a phone call to discuss ways to strengthen ties under their countries’ strategic partnership.
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