Another deadline nears for street taxis to join firms

Muscat: The Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology (MTCIT) has said that all Orange and White taxis should be part of the licensed companies from April 1.

Individual taxi operators can join OTaxi, Tasleem, Marhaba, Oman Taxi, Hala, and Taxi Muscat, which operate via mobile applications.

The government has been determined to improve and raise the level of taxi services in the country. As of January 2025, there are 28,241 registered taxis in the Sultanate, and several of them operate under companies.

Speaking to the Observer, Eng. Khamis bin Mohammed al Shamakhi, Undersecretary for Transport, said, "We focus a lot on streamlining taxi services as part of our plans to improve public transport, and the main objective is to ensure that all taxis should be metered (even orange and white street taxis ) through applications."

He said that there have been challenges, but progress has been made on that front. "Today, we have eight app-based taxi companies operating in the country."

The MTCIT has been giving extended grace period for street taxis to join the above-mentioned companies as the initial deadline was January 1, 2024.

The MTCIT planned to streamline street Orange and White taxis in the country, and guidelines stipulate that to practice taxi activity, a light driving license must be 3 years old from the date of issuance, and the operator's monthly salary must not exceed RO600 if an employee is in the private sector.

The age must not be less than 21 years and not more than 60 years.

One-year extensions can be given based on a medical report from accredited health institutions indicating his ability to drive a taxi.

It is also required that the age of the taxi vehicle must not exceed 7 years from the date of the year of manufacture to carry out operations at airports, ports, and hotels while the age of the taxi vehicles should not exceed 10 years from the date of the year of manufacture to practice the activity in the public places and commercial centers.

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