News & Events

New Qatar taxi firms pledge to tackle customer service woes

As Qatar’s newest taxi company pushes to expand its Doha fleet, managers there have said they hope to address the seemingly endless cycle of customer complaints about cab drivers by treating their employees better.

Residents here frequently lament rude taxi drivers who overcharge or refuse certain customers. In response, many drivers counter that they are underpaid and are forced to cheat passengers to eke out a living.

This stems in part from the compensation structure for many of Qatar’s taxi drivers, who must pay their employer a daily car rental rate in excess of QR200. With Doha’s worsening traffic jams, some drivers have said it is difficult to do much more than recoup that sum on a typical 11-hour shift.

Speaking on the sidelines of a press event this week, P Balasubramaniam, group director of Profit Group, which operates the Cars Taxi franchise, told Doha News: