Taxis facing greater competition from ‘limousine’ services

By Ramesh Mathew

Staff Reporter

Taxi operators are facing “intense” competition from other players, particularly “limousine” services, these days.

Several new small and medium “limousine” operators have started functioning over the last few months and many of them are doing brisk business, giving cabbies a lot to worry about, it is learnt.

Gulf Times had reported last month how some taxi drivers accused the “limousine” operators of eating into their market share and affecting the revenues of their franchisees. Commuters, on the other hand, felt that the “high-handed” cabbies themselves were largely responsible for losing out on customers.

While a limousine is generally defined as a luxury sedan or saloon car usually piloted by a chauffeur and with a partition between the driver and the passenger compartment, besides often having a lengthened wheelbase, most of the new “limousine” services in the country do not fit this definition and are just like any other ordinary cars on the road.

However, people using “limousine” services here do not seem bothered about dictionary definitions and prefer these cars to normal taxis due to a perceived difference in the quality of service provided, reliability and punctuality.

As a result, the “limousines” have found quite a few bulk customers, especially hotels and major business establishments.

“While most ‘limousine’ companies are aggressively selling their services, getting loyal and bulk customers at regular intervals, the government’s own taxi company and its two franchisees are somewhat clueless on such matters,” said a sales officer at a well-known city mall.

A sales personnel at a prominent hotel echoed similar sentiments.

While taxi services have improved considerably over the past year, commuters continue to face problems during the peak hours, it is understood. One of the complaints against taxis involves the “uneven” distribution of vehicles in the city.

“There are more taxis in some areas than what customers actually require; on the other hand, there are localities where people find it extremely difficult to find adequate number of cabs,” said a hotel manager while explaining why establishments and institutions like theirs are relying more on “limousines” than taxis for use by customers.

Replying to a query, a senior official of a taxi franchisee acknowledged that the three companies were facing “cutthroat” competition from the “limousines” these days.

Some commuters also attribute their reliance on “limousines” to the knowledge of Doha roads that their drivers have.

Asked if there is a feeling that the country’s taxi market is oversupplied, a senior functionary of a firm that has secured a licence to operate taxis said there wass still room for new players if efficiently operated. “My understanding is that a customer in Doha will use only a taxi if it is readily available,” he added.

Answering another query, he said the introduction of incentives for customers by individual Karwa operators could go a long way in boosting the taxi market.