Careem app now lets you book a cab in Dubai

Careen’s cab-booking feature will cost no more than hailing a Dubai taxi on the street, or calling the RTA hotline. Satish Kumar / The National

Careem has introduced an option to book RTA taxis in Dubai through its mobile app.

The new service will cost no more than hailing a Dubai taxi on the street, or calling the RTA hotline.

Careem, the local competitor to Uber, now offers new customers the chance to download the app and register, but no credit card details are needed.

Existing customers will see the new “taxi” car type as an option.

“By collaborating with the RTA and offering Dubai taxis on our platform, we are able to open up Careem to the masses,” said Faraz Syed, the managing director of Careem UAE. He said it means that Careem now offers an affordable service that anyone can use.

“In line with our vision to improve and simplify the lives of people living here, with the help of technology we can help provide more business for Dubai taxi drivers, helping to further grow their earning opportunities.”

The tie-up with the Government’s taxi service is a remarkable turnaround for the company. It was only at the beginning of February that Car­eem was allowed to relaunch its “ride now” service in Abu Dhabi, after many of its drivers were arrested and its services curtailed in August after breaching local government regulations.

“Absolutely we are open to the idea of extending a similar service to Abu Dhabi should the opportunity arise,” Mr Syed said. “For now, we are focussing on delivering customers a great product with our recently launched on demand ‘limo’ service, so people can book a ride as and when they need one.”

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