White-and-yellow taxis set to disappear

The famous New York-style white-and-yellow taxi cabs that once dominated Abu Dhabi’s streets are now rarely seen in the capital as they continue to give way to the new silver cabs introduced five years ago. By the end of 2012, the old taxis would no longer be seen after the last vehicles are phased out.

The plan is part of a five-year strategy by the Department of Transport (DoT) to replace those old cabs with the neater silver taxis that have started to become a hallmark of the streets in the capital of more than one million people.

More than 7,000 silver cabs now operate in Abu Dhabi, run by six private sector firms operating under the umbrella of the DoT, which has been locked in a long-term plan to update the emirate’s transport sector within its Vision 2030.

“By the end of 2012, the white-and-yellow cabs will completely disappear from Abu Dhabi’s streets under the five-year plan by DoT to replace them by the silver taxis,” the semi official Arabic language daily Alittihad said.

“They will not be able to operate ever again because DoT will not give licence to taxi cabs with an operational life of more than five years….not a single old taxi will be seen after that date after they dominated the capital for over 30 years.”

The replacement started in 2008 and only a few old taxis are left on the road as more silver cabs roar on the streets of the busy city.

Although they are more expensive, the new cabs appear to be a source of relief to residents as they are cleaner, more organized and are flooding all roads to ease a long-standing transport headache for the public.

The transport problem has further been eased with the introduction of massive public buses that remind frequent travellers abroad of London or New York.

TransAd, a pool of six private sector transport firms, is managing the mammoth silver taxi fleet under the control of the DoT.

The old cabs have been owned by UAE nationals, who have been compensated for the loss of their cars. Under a compensation plan drawn up by DoT, each taxi owner was entitled for Dh1,000 a month for 25 years.

TransAD was set up in 2006 to carry out the replacement plan under the Department’s supervision. It manages six taxi operators, including Tawasul Transportation Company, Cars Taxi, National Transportation Company, Al Ghazal Transport, Emirates Taxi and Arabia Taxi.

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