Friday 15 / November / 2024
Muscat: Mwasalat taxi fares will start at OMR1, as it begins its operations from Tuesday, the Oman National Transport Company (Mwasalat) announced on Monday. As a promotional offer, Mwasalat taxis that are hired from malls will charge OMR1 and on-call taxi services will be charged from OMR1.2 during the day between Saturday and Thursday (from 6 am to 10 pm). Passengers will have to pay 300 baisas for every kilometre.
The night fare (which includes Friday and public holidays) will start at OMR1.3 for those hired from the malls and from OMR1.5 for on-call services, with per kilometre charged at 350 baisas.
The promotional fares are valid until January 31, 2018.
Some 125 taxis will be allocated for malls, while airport taxis will be launched in January 2018 with 100 cars. Mwasalat confirmed that it was committed to the development of this sector, in line with the expectations of the public. The new service app will be available for download in Apple Store and Google Play, which can be used for pre-booking and immediate access to the service at any time and from anywhere in Muscat.
“Currently, people using it will have to pay by cash. Later, they can pay by card also,” the company said. The company also remarked that meters would be installed in the cars to protect user rights and facilitate knowledge of the cost of the trip and the distance travelled, along with vehicle tracking devices, while the behaviour of the drivers would also be assessed.
Last year, two companies — Mwasalat and Marhaba — were awarded taxi licences by the Ministry of Transport.
Earlier, Marhaba Taxi, which operates some 250 on-call taxi services in the city, slashed their fares and stated that its fares would start at OMR1.250 and thereafter, 190 baisas for each kilometre.
