ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED NEWSPAPER 18 May 2013 8 Rajab 1434 - Volume 18 Number 5703 Price: QR2 ON SATURDAY Three youth killed in road accident DOHA: Three Qatari youth died and one was in critical condition in the inten- sive care unit of a hospital after a road accident yesterday, the Al Sharq website reported. The victims, in their 20s, were on their way to Al Shamal when the driver lost con- trol of the vehicle, which was going at a high speed, and it turned turtle. The vehicle UNEASY (pictured) was badly damaged. Hackers sabotage Saudi govt websites RIYADH: Several government web- sites in Saudi Arabia were sabotaged in a series of heavy cyberattacks from abroad in recent days, disabling them briefly until the attacks were repelled, the gov- ernment said. An investigation traced the “coordinated and simultaneous attacks” to hundreds of Internet protocol addresses in a number of countries, an unnamed source at the Saudi RIDE Interior Ministry told state news agency SPA. The interior ministry website crashed on Wednesday after it received a “huge THE ISSUE amount” of service requests, but was back online less than two hours later after the “necessary technical drills” were performed to counter the attack, the source said. A common complaint of taxi users but whether action is taken is not known. similar woes as the previous taxi driver. The report made no mention of a pos- in the country is that not many Mowasalat officials were not immediately The third taxi operator pays a monthly sible motive. cabbies start the meter when available for comment but they told a local salary of around QR2,500-2,600, but then Arabic daily sometime ago that if their inter- the minimum number of kilometres a cab- ferrying a commuter and instead nal probe based on a customer complaint bie must cover in a month is 10,000, which US vows help to insist on charging a lump sum. proved that a cabbie was at fault, he could most cabbies say is an uphill task. even be dismissed. Another major customer complaint against That’s in the rule book, but whether a drivers is that most don’t speak English, Bangladesh nterestingly, state-run transport giant driver has ever been fired and sent packing and those knowing Arabic can literally be WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Mowasalat, which operates Karwa taxis, home is not known. counted on one’s fingers. Many don’t know John Kerry said yesterday that the US says the ride for a commuter is free if The company instead blames commuters the routes as they are new here. wanted to work with Bangladesh on Ithe meter has not been switched on or for falling prey to bullying cabbies and pay- The result is that instead of a cabbie tak- workers’ rights and safety in the wake of is not working for some reason. ing the fare even when the meter has not ing a commuter to a place he wishes to go, it the deadly factory collapse, and offered Ironically, though, the company that oper- been used. is the latter who must guide him to his desti- help after a killer storm. ates some 2,000 taxis has done little to raise Drivers also have their share of woes and, nation. Often, a commuter is new and doesn’t Welcoming his Bangladeshi counterpart awareness about this rule and the result prima facie, it appears that it is the system know the place so he ends up paying double Dipu Moni to Washington for talks, the is that some of its taxi drivers exploit peo- under which they work that forces many to the fare as the taxi would keep detouring. top US diplomat said “our hearts go out ple’s ignorance about the regulation to their violate rules and exploit commuters. Most sufferers are people who come here to the families” of the 1,127 people killed advantage. One company forces its drivers to pay a on tourist or business visas. when a garment factory complex crumbled So, commuters are either forced to pay minimum of QR265 for an 11-hour shift, and “Most cabbies not knowing English or not on April 24. up a lump sum as fare or there is a verbal petrol is free. A driver can pocket whatever having the global positioning system in their “We hope that this will be able to help all exchange or often a scuffle. he makes over QR265. taxis that would guide them to places have of us cooperate on the issue of labour and Incidents are galore where women com- Drivers say it’s hard for them to make tourists relying on taxi services in problems. labour standards and workers and workers’ muters have been bullied by some drivers QR265 each day, as there isn’t enough busi- This is affecting tourism promotion,” said a rights,” Kerry told Moni after Bangladesh’s after dark to cough up more money. ness all days of the week. “Sometimes we travel and tourism industry source. worst industrial accident. Even male commuters are coerced into have to pay the company from our pockets,” But taxi companies insist they provide Bangladesh is the world’s second-biggest paying more and some cases have recently said a cabbie not wanting his name in print training to newly recruited drivers before apparel maker and the $20bn industry been reported to police. as that would offend his employers. they are allowed to take to the road. One accounts for up to 80 percent of annual PAGEMowasalat and6 the other private Another taxi company asks its drivers company says it provides orientation to exports. companies that operate taxis get cus- to pay QR235 a day but then they must freshly-arrived cabbies for as many as four Kerry promised the United States had tomer complaints about the bad behav- buy the petrol. “It’s a tough call,” a cab- months. “a number of initiatives” it wanted to share iour of their drivers on a regular basis bie from this company said, narrating Continued on page 2 with Bangladesh. THE PENINSULA & AGENCIES www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 MAY 18, 2013 ON SATURDAY 02 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com Home Pic: Shaival Dalal More taxis, more problems Passengers say their grievances go unanswered; drivers blame companies BY RAYNALD C RIVERA remunerative work there had an Asian expatriate. to the management, saying they become difficult. The Mowasalat management worked on rental basis and could DOHA: When the taxis of two Many of his colleagues, he had earlier said that allowing do as they wished, he added. One cab for private companies recently said, had already left the country private taxi firms to operate The situation is virtually the hit Doha’s roads, commuters because they could not cope with here reflected Mowasalat’s desire same for Al Million drivers, as thought it would help solve the the situation. to promote healthy competition the driver must give the company every 647 transportation problems here, Driven by the need to meet his in the industry, provide more Many drivers say QR235 at the end of his shift and, particularly the scarcity of target for the day and provide options to customers and improve according to one driver, it is they taxis. They did not expect the for his family, he admits tricking the quality of the taxi service. they work on rental who pay for the petrol. people situation to get worse with the his customers, setting the meter However, this is not happening, “My monthly salary is QR1,200 additional taxis. to the night time rate or that many say. basis and can do and that is not enough as I have Continued from page 1 The introduction of the private for places outside Doha, which A senior official of the state- whatever they want to spend for food and other basic Given that the population taxi companies was welcomed by increases his daily income by 50 owned transport company once needs and send money to my fam- of the country is 1.94 million the public because many believed percent. said more taxis could solve the when customers ily,” the driver said, adding that it and the number of taxis is competition would mean better Mowasalat has set uniform taxi problem of illegal taxis operat- was difficult to earn QR235 a day 3,000, there is one cab for services and cheaper rates; how- fares for all the three operators: ing in the city. However, many of threaten to report as he sometimes came across bad every 647 people. ever, that was not to be. the daytime rate in Doha is QR1.2 these illegal taxis ply the streets them to the customers. The figure looks With the coming of the new for every kilometre and the night of Doha because a lot of people Many customers, he said, pre- impressive but what makes taxi companies the number of and out of Doha rate is QR1.8/km. prefer them to the poor serv- management. ferred not to go by the meter and the taxi business challenging cabs plying on the city’s streets “I don’t choose which taxi to ices and high fare of the three bargained for a lower fare. There is that private cars are no has increased by 50 percent, take because there is really no dif- operators. had also been instances of cus- less than a million, and there from 2,000 Karwa taxis to 3,000 ference when it comes to the fare.