Source: www.rta.ae
The Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC), Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), has launched “The Drivers’ Mentor Award 2010” worth AED 61,000 in total, in the context of its preventive plans to educate cabdrivers on safe driving, and raise the operational efficiency of the DTC. This award is sponsored by Noor Takaful, the Shari’a compliant insurance arm of Noor Investment Group.
The CEO of Noor Takaful, Parvaiz Siddiq, expressed his delight with this occasion saying, “We are pleased to cooperate with the RTA and DTC in kicking off this initiative, which demonstrates Noor Takaful’s commitment to its social responsibility. The importance of this Award is underlined by the provision of moral and material incentives to ideal cabdrivers, and accordingly the benefits are not limited to winners, but extend to include all road users, be it drivers or pedestrians. The compliance with the traffic rules and safe driving techniques brings about huge benefits to the community as a whole, and we looking forward for our contribution to pay dividends in enhancing the public awareness and improving the safety levels in the interest of the community at large.”
The DTC Director of Fleet Operations Yousef Al Ali said: “The Award aims to honor the ideal cabbies on the basis of the standing standards set out during the process of cabbies assessment, and educate cabdrivers on safe driving & direct them to abide by traffic regulations, and remain vigilant and fully focused on roads.
“This Award is proposed by a Taxicabs Accidents Study Committee, which was formed by an Administrative Decision issued by the CEO of DTC. Accordingly, a specific mechanism has been mapped out for this Award, which is being divided into three categories: The Diamond Cabby, Golden Cabby and Silver Cabby. Motivation is the first and foremost ingredient of upgrading the level of service, and improving the caliber as well as the efficiency of cabdrivers through offering them prizes in cash and in kind to motivate them to attain the highest levels of service,” added Al Ali.
Under the contract signed recently between DTC and Noor Takaful, Noor Takaful sponsored this award and took part in various awareness-raising campaigns held by DTC to educate drivers on road safety, minimize traffic accidents, and raise the satisfaction of both customers and distinguished drivers.
Yousef Al Ali gave further elaboration about the criteria required in cabbies to qualify for obtaining this Award; which he summarized as follows: Accident-free driving record, offence-free driving traffic file, and no quality violations per each (100.000) km done during the year. Preference between the first, second and third depends on the highest income levels realized.
“Cash prizes will be distributed in proportion to the would-be honored 15 DTC Cabbies, who are selected as follows: 7 drivers from the 12-hour-shift, 3 drivers from the Airport Taxi, 3 female drivers from the Ladies Taxi, 1 driver from the District Taxi, and 1 driver from Hatta Taxi. Cash prizes will be distributed to the above categories as follows: AED 5000 plus a certificate of appreciation to the Diamond Cabby, AED 4000 plus a certificate of appreciation to the Golden Cabby, and finally AED 3000 plus a certificate of appreciation to the Silver Cabby,” continued Al Ali.
The Director of Fleet Operations Dep’t stressed DTC’s keen attention to qualify and fully prepare cabbies before commencing their career in driving as they are considered ambassadors of the RTA. “This preparation does not include safe driving and compliance with traffic laws only, but DTC also pays paramount attention to cabbies’ adherence to the code of ethics and good practices, including honesty and credibility in the daily dealing with passengers so that they can sincerely reflect the methodology observed and advocated by the DTC,” continued Al Ali.
The DTC Director of Fleet Operations praised the efforts made by DTC’s Fleet Drivers Affairs Dep’t in holding intensive qualifying & training courses, which contribute to enhancing cabbies efficiency and sense of responsibility as well as instilling in them values and good principles with the aim of having them reflected on the services provided to the public. “DTC has launched a number of initiatives to honor cabbies and raise their satisfaction level by recognizing honest drivers on a monthly basis, and outstanding ones on a quarterly basis as outlined in Drivers Performance Measurement System. Additionally, DTC has allocated AED 2 million as bonuses under this system and also honoured cabdrivers who exemplify outstanding service levels,” said Al Ali in final remark.
