Taxis in Dubai take just 14 minutes to reach your doorstep once the booking has been registered, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) says.

And the RTA’s call centre don’t take more than 34 seconds to register a booking, according to Abdullah Al Mahri, director of Transport Activities Monitoring at RTA’s Public Transport Agency.

According to the statistics revealed by the authority, the Booking and Dispatch Centre of RTA’s Public Transport Agency registered 2.9 million booking requests during the first half of this year.

“During the first six months of this year, the centre received more than 4 million calls, including about 1.8 million calls made through the IVR system, which is 45 per cent of the total calls received by the centre. About 29,000 taxi bookings were made through the smart taxi app during this period,” Al Mahri said.

He said that the RTA is committed to bringing happiness to customers spanning all community segments through using state-of-the-art technologies in delivering a diverse package of services, and revamping processes to place services at a par with the world’s best.

“Our every effort ensures that services are delivered in a handy, speedy and transparent manner to meet the needs of the public, especially taxi riders, in a bid to add a touch of luxury and majesty to this sector,” added Al Mahri.

Gulf News spoke to a number of customers about the efficiency of the RTA’s taxi booking service and received a mixed response.

A British expat, on conditions of anonymity, said that he uses taxis daily and he has rarely received a response as quick as 34 seconds.

“The service is good but I don’t think it’s as quick as 34 seconds. Even the dispatch takes longer than what RTA claims. Sometimes I have to make sure the taxi is on its way by calling again,” said the expat, who is based in Al Barsha.

Another expat, Mohammad Omar, said that the average could be 14.2 seconds but the time taken for taxi arrival is usually more than that and never less.

“The call centre is usually quick to receive the call but I think the time taken for arrival is mostly more than 15 minutes, which is not bad, but it is definitely not as quick as they claim,” said Omar, who is Egyptian and is based in Hor Al Anz East.

Imran Quraishi, an Indian expat residing in Al Karama, said he prefers flagging down a taxi on the road rather than booking and waiting.

“I find taxis pretty quick on the street, it is more convenient and cheaper as well,” said Quraishi, who is a long-term resident of Dubai.