Muscat: The Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology (MTCIT) has urged that licensed taxi apps are essential to ensure transparency by setting fixed prices before the trip, and security by tracking and monitoring the route.
The licensed companies will guarantee that services are available quickly.
The clear pricing and payment systems will benefit both drivers and customers, apart from the ease of use and privacy of the user's personal data.
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 of Oman and several of them operate under companies.
Speaking to the Observer, Eng Khamis bin Mohammed al Shammakhi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology 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.”
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