By Majorie van Leijen www.emirates247.com
It used to be simple; one taxi service, one taxi queue. But now, the traveler is prompted with multiple options when he walks out of Dubai International Airport, and an unaware tourist is easily misled by taxi-drivers claiming to be the ‘airport taxi service’.
Maria Strasshof, a Dubai expat, walked straight into the trap when she returned from her annual vacation at Dubai International Airport.
“Before I could make my way to the regular taxi queue, I was approached by a gentleman offering me a ride in a taxi. When I told him my destination, he presented a printed piece of paper on which the price for all areas was mentioned. A ride to my destination would cost double the price of a regular taxi ride,” she said.
“He claimed that taxi fares from the airport are fixed. Luckily I knew that was not true.”
The Road and Transport Authority (RTA) offers three services from the airport, explains an RTA spokesperson. “There are the red-roof taxis, pink-roof taxis and the limousine taxis; all available from the official taxi queue. Once you are in that queue, you can tell what type of service you would like to use,” he explains.
Besides RTA, there are two other licensed agents that operate from Dubai International Airport. “Emirates airlines offer their own limousine services and we have a contract with Valtrans Limousine to offer services from the airport,” confirms Ali Zaigham, Manager at Dubai Airports Company. More info
