Transportation Blues: Kuwait Taxi's

I help run the family business. Our office is in Kuwait City near Al-Muthana... so everyone knows how much traffic and congestion there is not just to commute there in the morning, but throughout the whole day.

So whenever I have meetings in the city, I take a taxi; don't have to worry about tight/no parking or paying attention on the road during the insane traffic. Relaxes my mind.

But I always wondered... how EFFECTIVE is the Kuwait Taxi service? I always chat to these drivers... ask them how they are doing and about their work. Most of them are miserable... usually they have to pay an average of 6 or 7 KD per DAY to their company, and whatever they have over that is theirs. They have to pay their own residencies too.

I've seen how people haggle over prices too... I don't mind paying a little more as a tip... but many fight over .250 fils for a ride.

Let's not forget most of them are left in bad condition and the drivers are not informed to dress properly or speak English... this affects the tourism of Kuwait and it's image.

If anyone has been to Dubai, you know how the Road & Transport Authority (RTA) (IE the Government) runs the taxi system.

They own several taxi companies under the same umbrella, and all are unified (same cars, uniform for drivers, meter, call center). They even have vans and women drivers!

I'm sure if the government took over this service under MOC, they could 1) remove all illegal residing drivers, and any abuses, and keeping all the cars in good working condition.

I've lived in Kuwait for almost 30 years, and I hate to see how these things, as minuscule they are to others, are a actually very important as a social issue.