Comments on: Be careful of the racist taxi drivers

By: m

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:20:21 +0000

In all fairness, the poor guys dont get a base salary, only commissions. (forget listening to the company line; they are told to say they have a base salary. Actual conversation will tell you they dont). No accomodation, no nothing. If they undershoot 2 months in a row, they get fired. So the reason they tend to avoid brown people is not racism per se. Its because many want to go to karama / bur dubai, where the cab gets stuck in traffic for an hour, and the cabbie makes squat. White people usually want the marina / shk zayed rd / barsha. Long trip, low amounts of traffic. Voila. Want this fixed? Petition for a decent base salary for cabbies, or some kind of scheme where they are not penalized for traffic jams.

Its easy to criticize from our side of the fence, but think about it from their perspective for one second. They lead a horrible life. Btw: quite brown, worked my way up the hard way, and believe me, racism from taxi drivers is the least troubling of discrimination I see in this region.

By: thatsit(mohamad)

thatsit(mohamad) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:02:39 +0000

i think you have to tell them about the time also because they change the driver also every time

By: Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury

Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 13:57:32 +0000

Thanks for the info, Anthony. You are right.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 13:05:41 +0000

man i’m white yet i have the most horrible stories to tell about taxis in dubai… could u imagine calling RTA and asking for a taxi, then waiting for it from 4:30 till 11:00 ?!!!! i even got the complains recorded on my mobile as a souvenir of the most horrible day in my life And by the way the number you posted is for RTA general inquiries… for complain you should call 042080888 and what u need to give them is the number next to the back door not the plate number … but i dont think that will help i’ve tried it a lot.

By: Fouad

Fouad — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:04:36 +0000

I guess with the Dubai Metro we wont have this problem anymore…mainly coz it doesnt have a driver

By: Fouad

Fouad — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:02:56 +0000

Hey Mash jus thought id drop in something…well of the biggest problems which again is one of the biggest advantages in Dubai…is the fact that it is multi cultured. When you have people coming in from all the wierd corners of the world, some with hardly any education to stand by…it really shows when they interact with people…this is something you will hardly ever come across while travelling in other parts of the world especially in Europe ( I wouldnt say too much about Africa) Over there you would find that even taxi drivers actually greet you with a warm smile and are actually real friendly…thats something you hardly ever come across in Dubai…

By: Musa

Musa — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:41:27 +0000

Sometimes I feel that Dubai is on its way to becoming a utopia for BNP chavs. One point of praise for Dubai that some Britishers/Americans give is that it doesnt have any “PC crap” found in the UK/US. In other words, you are preferred by taxis, and sometimes are bumped to the front of queues.

Btw, this lot always claims that Dubai is an equal opportunity place without any racism, however I have this sneaking suspicion that many of them actually enjoy being given preferential treatment….

By: Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury

Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:25:30 +0000

Yep, thought of that. But I decided to wait a while until we become a more “respectable” media outlet. Right now, no one in the media industry cares about this website, but we’re quietly growing to bite them in the ass later.

By: Ace

Ace — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 05:53:09 +0000

how about adding a link on drivearabia about - Taxi-men Behaviour. Share your experiences. And then forward data to RTA . It’d be like a general vent place, with taxi numbers and licence plates should you wish to make it an official petition against rude practices. Over to you Mr. Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury.

By: lotfi

lotfi — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 18:47:23 +0000

haha u wish

By: Bashar Dahdah

Bashar Dahdah — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 18:46:25 +0000

hahaha walla not here man me and safa had to wait 30mins for a taxi on friday so chubb..we don’t have older brothers to drive us around

By: lotfi

lotfi — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 18:42:38 +0000

walla bashar hatsa73bni walla eh jks a bashar hows lina

By: Bashar Dahdah

Bashar Dahdah — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 15:32:48 +0000

lotfi…i’m in qatar as well. you’re so right

By: Lotfi

Lotfi — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 13:13:55 +0000

its same here 2 i live in Qatar and they never stop except is u r wit a girl i was once waiting for a taxi for more than an hour more than 5 taxis waited they slowdown and then for soem reason then just speed off, i was waitin there wit ma mate and then this girl stands there the first taxi tht passes by goes all the way from the left lane to the right cutting off like 3 cars and stops for her i was pissed off sarted swearin fortunalty tht girl was kind enough share a taxi so i offered to pay for the whole fare, these taxis r pissing me off thank gd ma bro got his liscence, i hav 2 wait 1 more year.

By: Saad Bashar

Saad Bashar — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 09:50:41 +0000

These days taxi drvers are not only racists but i think they got their liscence from illegal street racers. They drive crazily fast, and what worries me is that they drive a camry!!

By: Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury

Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 09:15:26 +0000

That’s right, Ace. It’s becoming a popular trick. Assuming they stop of course.

By: Ace

Ace — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 08:00:27 +0000

I wasnt sticking up for them..I’ve come across my share of ‘pricks’ ( i like the common understanding and free use of this term) too …
Now…If they give me grief…I tell them a long fare to get in the cab…and then once in…tell them wherever I realy wanna go..(if its a short trip)

By: Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury

Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:27:54 +0000

Nah, I think the police number to report bad driving by other people is something else.

By: sam

sam — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 04:20:16 +0000

sorry to hear that dude, i hate all UAE taxi drivers. that goes for AUH, DXB and sharjah. they all pricks!!!. too bad you did not note down the plates. also what you could do next time is record it on video (im sure everyone has a cam phone these days).

is 800 9090 the number we use to report jacka$$ drivers too? like the ones that tailgate you on emirates road, drive on the shoulder, cut you off etc?

By: Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury

Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:16:37 +0000

As I said, I ain’t crying for them. That’s like saying you should excuse criminals because they’ve had a hard life. There are lots of people here whose earnings are modest, but they don’t behave this way, and I deal with all facets of society in this country due to work obligations and due to the area I live in.