Phone bookings for Dubai taxis to stop from December 7

All taxi booking services in Dubai will completely migrate to Careem’s ride-hailing smartphone app from December 7.

The entire fleet of cabs run by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will move to the platform called Hala, which was officially launched on August 29.

Officials say, through the latest system, passengers will be able to confirm their booking within 10 seconds and get a taxi within just 3.5 minutes on average.

It will also help them track their routes, rate the drivers, check the fare in advance, and pay through cash or credit card.

"Among the additional benefits that customers will enjoy from this innovative way of booking a Dubai taxi, is the ability to raise any questions or concerns directly via the Careem in-app chat," said Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of RTA’s Public Transport Agency.

"However, safety and lost & found issues will remain to be handled by RTA’s Call Centre (8009090)," he added.

The move heralds a shift from the interactive voice response system of taxi booking in Dubai to Hala e-hailing system on the Careem app. This step marks a paradigm shift of Dubai Taxi booking process from the call system to Hala.

— RTA (@rta_dubai) November 11, 2019