Dubai to recruit taxi drivers as demand outstrips supply

Open day offers potential recruits Dh2,000 monthly salary plus commission

Taxi drivers wait for customers outside Dubai airport. AFP

Dubai's publicly owned taxi company is searching for new drivers, as demand for transport soars.

A recruitment day will be held on Friday in which potential drivers will be offered monthly salaries of Dh2,000 plus commission.

Positions are open for men and women, who work in a “pink taxi” fleet that serves women and families only.

In an online advertisement, Privilege Labour Recruitment said a walk-in day would be held on Friday, March 10, from 8am until 2pm at its headquarters at Office M-11, Abu Hail Centre, Deira.

Applicants must have a residency visa, Emirates ID and a valid driving licence. They must be aged between 23 and 55, the advert read.

Dubai Taxi Corporation, run by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), has 5,700 vehicles. Most of the vehicles run 24 hours a day, operated by drivers on 12-hour split shifts.

Demand has been supplemented by the growth of Careem and parent company Uber, which connects privately owned limo companies with customers via their apps.

But demand has noticeably outstripped supply in recent months.

Thousands of drivers have been sent to Expo 2020 Dubai, which began on October 1 and ends on March 31, and taxis are hard to come by in that side of town in particular.

The city has also experienced post-pandemic population growth, with thousands of new arrivals every month.

As The National reported in January, Dubai's population is set to hit 3.5 million in the coming months. There are official projections that 5.8 million people will live in the emirate by 2040 — placing the roads under significant strain. Many new arrivals are expected to be from Russia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

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