In The News: BO = PU!

Newsflash: Dubai taxis stink! Seriously.

So Dubai Taxi Corporation, the government entity who oversees them, has outfitted all their cars with air fresheners in response to customer complaints about drivers who smell.

From Arabian Business:

Smelly taxis a thing of the past with new cab deodorant
Elsa Baxter on Thursday, 08 October 2009

All taxis in Dubai are now fitted with a deodorant in a bid to improve customer satisfaction after reports of “smelly taxicabs”.

A statement from Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC) on Thursday said every one of its 3,503 taxis have been fitted with a natural smelling deodorant.

"Dubai Taxi Corporation has opted to install deodorants with natural fragrance and place them below cabby's seat and will last for one month from the date of installation,” Yousef Mohammed Al Ali, director of DTC Fleet Operations Department.

This natural scent has undergone a three-month test involving over 350 vehicles of Dubai Taxi fleet, and the material proved effective in removing odours and spreading a pleasant sweet-scented smell in the vehicle's interior.

“The success of this material has been measured in customer satisfaction surveys about the smells of taxicabs; particularly at Dubai International Airport,” he said.

"RTA in general and DTC in particular are engaged in discussions with the suppliers of Dubai Taxi vehicles about the smelly cabs,” he added.

DTC said it made every effort to ensure taxis were clean, including changing the air-conditioning filters every three months and cleaning the seats and interior.

My initial reaction to this story was don't give the car deoderizer, give the driver a bar of soap!!! Taxis are still my pet peeve but fortunately I don't have to take them often. When I do, I am reminded of why I don't take them if at all possible. They are a fickle bunch, they've been accused of "racial profiling" prospective fares and earlier this year they collectively whined loud enough to get the minimim fare raised from 3 dirhams to 10 dirhams when they suddenly noticed a dwindling customer base and a surplus of cars, a sharp reversal from the pre-financial crisis hayday (supply and demand is a double edged sword.) Airport taxis start at 20 Dirhams but arguabley, they are newer, bigger, cleaner cars ... and, unless you have arranged your own transportation, they are your only option (stay tuned for a future posting on the recently launched public transportation system, the "Metro", with stations conveniently located at both airport terminals and a not so convenient "no luggage bigger than a lap-top bag" policy - go figger!)

In their defense, taxi drivers work long hours in heavily conjested traffic which gets under the skin of the best of us and, under a competitive quota system, they are not well compensated. Since most do not meet the minimum salary requirement to bring their families into the country, most are bachelors living in meager conditions with limited access to cooking and bathing facilities. One has to sympathize with the challenges of good hygiene under such conditions. And some have not seen their families for several years despite sending money to support them every month.

Some drivers are courteous, speak enough English to ascertain your desired destination, get you there via the most efficient route in a comparatively safe manner, get out of their car to help you with your luggage and actually smell OK. But rarely do you get all of these in the same driver. And my sympathies really start to wear thin every time a taxi comes screaming up behind the Pajero, flashing his brights to pass, tailgates for all of 3 seconds, then passes at triple the speed limit while on-coming cars swerve to avoid him (true story and sadly not a "one-off".) As a general statemment, their attitude towards other drivers (and pedestrians) is astounding.

While it is newsworthy and commendable that an "institutional entity" here has acknowledged that customers matter, the success of their campaign remains to be seen. Those thirty-five hundred and three air fresheners will eventually expire and unless they are replaced regularly, the smelly taxi problem that was a thing of the past will surely return in the not too distant future. We'll be right back where we started: stinky cabs with attitude.