Air passengers, including citizens and residents, are aggrieved over the high taxi fares at the Muscat International Airport.
Speaking to the Observer, some regular travellers said while the connectivity has definitely improved with the opening of the new airport, taxi fares are exorbitantly high.
“Bus services are certainly of decent standards like in any major cities but they do not offer the last mile connectivity. Passengers travelling into the city depend on taxis for convenience,” said Ravish Naik, a business traveller in Muscat. “Travelling to the airport from in Ruwi or elsewhere is not that expensive due to multiple options, including the bus and the on-demand cab services. But for commuting from the airport, choices are limited as only one company is authorised to pick passengers’’.
John Desouza shared a similar experience, “The taxi from the airport to Al Khuwair took around RO 15, which is nearly double the fare we used to pay from the old airport and also unreasonable.” Similarly, a trip from airport to Ruwi cost over RO 22.
Not disputing the quality of services offered by airport taxis, regular travellers said all legal taxi operators should be allowed to pick passengers from the airport to ensure a level playing field.
According to a taxi operator, “Fares were determined by the authorities after due consultations. Fares take into account that most of the time we return to the airport with no passengers’’.
Fares start at RO 2.5 from Sunday to Thursday (6 am to 10 pm).
At the same time, passengers argued that the best way to do away from the illegal trade is to make the fares competitive as it is the only thing that separates legal and illegal businesses.
Hotel operators in the Al Khuwair and Bausher area too confirmed that their customers are generally not happy with taxi fares from the airport.
According to the Ministry of Transport, passenger transport by illegal taxis to and from Muscat International Airport attracts a fine of RO 200, in addition to the fine of RO 35 levied by the Royal Oman Police (ROP) for a similar violation.
Confirming that only illegal transportation is penalized by the authorities, Oman Airport allows relatives and friends to pick and drop passengers at the airport.
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