Tariq A. Al-Maeena The deputy chairman of the National Committee for Land Transport Saeed Al-Bassami was reported in a local daily as saying that there are plans in the offing to create a mega taxi service company. Al-Bassami elaborated that in the plan, the more than 700 owners of taxi/limousine fleets today would be banding together to pool their large inventory of vehicles into one giant company. This mega-monolith would have 25 primary partners who would bring their collection of 15,000 taxis into the mega-fleet. It is expected that the new company would attract almost 1,400 other taxi fleet owners as secondary investors with 43,000 vehicles at their disposal. The deputy chairman then went into details. The mother company would begin the initiative to “reorganize the taxi sector in the Kingdom. The process of merging the taxi firms into major companies will be optional in the beginning. At later stages, the merger will be completed in an organized manner to encompass all the taxis operating in the Kingdom. Under the system, all taxis will be monitored through a satellite channel. Their movement, location, and direction will be under surveillance using GPS technology.” This would help the company keep tabs on their vehicles, and by virtue of GPS, “allow parents to keep an eye on daughters who ride unaccompanied in a taxi.” Major cities in the Kingdom will be served by branches of this company, and each province will also have provisions for this service. Al-Bassami added that the study to upgrade the Kingdom's taxi service had been completed and is currently awaiting execution. The ministries of transport and labor have given the green light for the new company to be formed and have offered all the support required to get it up and running once the partners complete all formalities. Another deputy chairman, this time from the Eastern Province, stated that the minister of transport had recommended introducing the concept, with a few ideas of his own. Salem Al-Bulaiwi, the deputy chairman of the Land Transport Committee, was quoted as saying,“During a meeting with the minister in Riyadh, he suggested introducing this meter-priced system in the Eastern Province. The plan's implementation has been delayed due to our objections to the high fares starting from SR50.” Most consumers who use the taxi service today pay anywhere from SR5 to SR10 for short to moderate distances (2-10km). The abundance of these white-colored vehicles and their presence in almost all neighborhoods helps people get around quickly and conveniently. But what I gathered from this news report is that not only is a giant taxi monopoly currently in the works, but it could also be accompanied by higher fares that will be shoved down the throats of consumers without recourse. Once the cartel of this service is established anything would be possible. Do we need such a mega monopoly? Has not our bitter experience with the national phone company or the national airline at a time when there were no other players taught us some lessons? Were we that satisfied with the mediocre services of those organizations that we are now considering creating another mega organization that deals with public service without having the choice of using another? As an enterprise that would be free to set its own policies and prices, who would shoulder the added costs, and who would be the beneficiaries: the primary partners, the secondary ones or the millions of users of this service? And shouldn't fathers concerned over their daughters consider the dangers of females alone and in the confined interior ofa vehicle with a total stranger? Are there no other options? Monopolies have not served consumers well. In the absence of anti-trust laws on our books or effective public regulation, the merits of such a venture are not positive or encouraging. And once implemented therewould beno other choices. It is vital that the Ministry of Transport reconsider this proposal from all angles and safeguard the interests of consumers first before giving its final approval. — The author can be reached at [email protected]
