“I have noticed that the Pakistani drivers usually ask for the highest price even for a short distance. They are not always willing to negotiate,” a passenger, who did not want his name published, told Arab News. “A Pakistani driver would never go down below the fixed price tag of SR10 even for a distance of 300 meters, he added.
The passenger said all Pakistanis, who make up the largest demographic of cab drivers, will ask for the same price and give you the same answer; but if you are lucky you will run into a driver of another nationality.
“While the Pakistanis are the most expensive among taxi drivers, the Indonesians, Sri Lankans and Bangladeshis usually ask for reasonable fares,” said another passenger, who also did not want his name revealed, said.
“The difference in prices may be close to 50 percent. When the Pakistani asks for SR15 or SR20, other limousine drivers can accept SR10 for the same destination,” he said.
Arshad Iqbal, a Pakistani cab driver who has been in the business for more than 15 years and speaks good Arabic, said the cost of living in the driver’s original home and the value of his currency compared to the Saudi riyal are the factors determining the price. He said another reason for the high taxi fares is the daily output required by the limousine companies from drivers which went up from SR60 a day to SR140. “This leaves us with very little money for ourselves, so we ask for high prices to be able to meet the requirement of the company and save something for ourselves,” he said.
Raji Muhammad, a taxi driver from Sri Lanka has a totally different point of view. “I tend to accept any price offered by the passengers instead of roaming empty in the streets,” he said. He said he pays his company a daily vehicle rental fee of SR120, not including the cost of petrol, and takes the rest of the money for himself.
“Therefore, I work for long hours to be able to pay the company and make some income for myself,” he said.
Though all taxis have meters to indicate the price, they are never used and often disabled or broken.
According to passengers, the Saudi taxi drivers usually park in front of big malls and supermarkets where the customers are usually rich and do not object to any price.
“A Saudi driver will not tell you how much but will only ask you to jump in expecting to give him whatever he asks for when you reach your destination,” a customer said.
Saudis also dominate the taxi syndicate at King Abdulaziz International Airport, where non-Saudi drivers are prohibited from waiting for customers. (They are allowed to drop off and pick up if the customer has made arrangements in adviance with a preferred driver.) Rabee Hamadi, an Egyptian driver who has been driving a taxi in Jeddah for five years, believes that the sharp difference in fares is determined by the car brand and model.
“If the car is new and is American or Japanese, the price will be a little bit high,” he said. He also said the peak hours usually make a difference in fares. “At the time of school closure early noon, the prices are usually higher than they are between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.,” he said.
Saeed Al-Bassami, deputy chairman of the Taxi Commission at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), expects the prices to go down with more limousine companies entering the market. He said Jeddah, the gate to the Two Holy Mosques, has about five million domestic and foreign visitors every year and so it needs more taxi cabs.
Bassami called for using the meter system. “When it is reintroduced, the chaos in the current prices will end. At present the real price of a distance may by only SR7 while the driver may demand SR15 or SR20. So using meters will end this confusion,” he said.
In order to avoid hailing cabs, a common strategy employed by expatriates is to exchange numbers with a preferred cab driver and to use him exclusively by phoning in advance. However, expect to pay a little more for the convenience of door-to-door service, especially if you ask the driver to wait for you as you run errands.
