Enough Karwa Cabs to Meet Demands. Dream on!
Gulf Times
There are enough taxis to meet the needs of customers in Doha, feels Craig William Dalgleish, Mowasalat’s director of taxis and limousines. Dalgleish said this to The Gulf Times...The taxi director said at any given time, the company has at least 1,500 vehicles on the roads. This is besides the number of vehicles being regularly serviced and maintained at the company’s workshop facilities. “Our focus at the moment is to reduce considerably the waiting time of customers asking for taxis,” he said. The official claimed the company had succeeded in reducing the waiting time in the past few months with the installation of more sophisticated equipment at its calling centre and also with the introduction of radio services on more than 100 taxis...
Sorry sir , my duty is finish !!
- why they don`t have the RED/Green light indicator !
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maybe it would be different next year....
Azilana.....you mean now we'll hear "Baad Buqra Insh'Allah" on calling the Karwa Customer Service??? :D
----------------------------------------------------------------Give me some SunShine......Give me some Rain
Give me another Chance...I wanna grow up once Again
I've heard the new Director is a Qatari...
KARWA's attitude is encouraging the private taxi drivers, who turn - out to be more reliable and economical too.
I've just called Karwa to book a taxi 48 hours in advance and been told that from 10pm-6am there are only limousines available (my destination was the airport). I used to be able to order cabs as early as 5am in the morning, what's happened? Is Craig aware of this? Since when was this new system brought in?
I think Karwa should be careful as more and more people will simpley use private limousine companies as they appear to be more reliable.
The last director left for Abu Dhabi..Wonder were Criag is planning to go? after these statements?..lol
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HE WHO DARES WINS
Well that's what my driver thinks. They keep him in his job as having experienced them I would not go near them. I don't own a car and do not intend to get one, as during the day if I am in traffic I can get quite a bit of work done as the passenger. Plus after a few "refreshments" in the evening, I have no concerns about driving, just pile in the back and "home James please". I just love this country.
Having said that, i do try to make my personal best effort to do my work with sincerity (as if it was my own) and also make an effort to talk other office workers and try to get them motivated
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Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
Its not just Karwa. It's every damn company i have interacted with in Qatar over the past two years. Today i managed to get my bank account activated after a 2 week wait but not before i had spoken to 3 senior managers i know personally at the bank.
I mean to say this is the attitude everywhere. Employees don't take ownership of their company and of their work. Don't jump on me yet, i'm not blaming the employees. It's the system and environment. There's simply no corporate governance here. Heck, i would be surprised if someone even knows what corporate governance means!
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Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
I owe a big Thank you to Karwa. I have lived for many years in Abu Dhabi but never bothered to get a driving licence. Thanks to Karwa and their ineffeciency, I managed to get my driving licence.
they offered me a limousine instead. what a service.
Visit my photo blog @
http://my-photos-album.blogspot.com/
YOU DONT KNOW ME, DONT EVEN TRY !!!
enough cabs in doha? ye'ryt! dream on!
there are hundreds of karwa taxi. just go to karwa compound in abu hamour and you'll find lots of it.
silent "G"
Omas ali..>we get the point..
Cramp and rubbish.
Cramp and rubbish.
Cramp and rubbish.
Cramp and rubbish.
Cramp and rubbish.
there are alot of karwa taxis but not on the road...actually in the garage for repairing..hehe..i have seen these karwa taxi drivers driving in industrial area...damn they actually F**k the cars...
jayemz said bowlers21 its not a good joke ...
to stand & wait 15 minutes or more for taxi....
Sat, 20/12/2008 - 12:09pm
belated merry xmas, happy new year too!!!
Someone would rather pay little extra, call a private Limo Co. and save him/herself all the hassle you guys are talking about with Karwa cabs..
Live For Nothing OR Die For Something!
How can you Rely on Karwa Cabs when:
1> The drivers aren't available to drive the cabs.
2> Drivers have to run the cabs all day - 9 hours to make 250 Riyals for the company out of which they can keep only the excess amount for themselves. So they ought to cheat people charging them extra whenever and wherever they get a chance. Its like playing Robin hood. Most of these drivers are on contracts that promise them a very low salary. They also have to ZOOM around doha to make this 250 and little extra that has to be sent back home to repay the loan which they have taken for securing the expenses required to reach here. Cant blame them can you?
3> Zooming past Doha in high speed would endanger your life or others life and always have the probability of high accidents. So you can expect mayhem and damaged karwa cabs and with this kind of crazy driving to attain the required amount every dat, you could find a karwa cab damaged at each and every part of Doha. They race to high speeds and break suddenly, try to avoid the radars, signal lights turning amber to red, whenever they can and in the process makes the client feel nauseated and also wonder whether he/she would make it alive.
4> Petrol prices have gone down to 35$ a barrel and still dropping but Karwa rates haven't dropped a penny! interesting mathematics?
5> Catching a Karwa cab is almost impossible cause today a person told me to wait near the roundabout and he assured me a cab would be reaching ANYTIME! and yes it almost did after half an hour of time ticking away! The cab came withing 50 metres away and then took a U turn and dissappeared. So I took this simple step
K=Keep
A=Away
R=Rather
W=Walk
A=Away
Meanwhile I found an old friend who gave me a lift. Wow, I'm so lucky it wasn't another Karwa.
lets hope that they could consider it.
Kudos for responding Mr Dalgleish. I hope you have informed Gulf Times of their rather serious misquote and asked them to issue an apology.
Thank you Mr Craig Dalgleish for responding and thanks azilana for getting him on QL.
Its true that the fleet has increased and now the Karwa is visible. Previously it was like spotting a Hummer ....one in an hour.
What is also true is the fact the Karwa drivers are not happy with receiving "command" (as to where to go) over the Radio.
I guess the easiest way to increase the fleet would be to hire the "Private taxi", give them a Karwa Sticker, & ask them to pay Karwa QR500 per month. (No salary, Accident claim, Repair charges, Petrol Money nothing ...). I guess Karwa could easily get 10,000 Taxis hired overnight.
And Karwa could get an income of QR500x 10,000 = 5,000,000 per month just by giving out Stickers.
playa07 That was rude.
Dear Mr Dalgleish
Thanks for your response....
I tried in the past to make a complaint to your regular number. It just doesn't work. They say they will pass it on - nothing happens. Certainly no-one gets back to you. This needs to be addressed as a couple of female friends have had serious issues with drivers.
However, the last time I booked a taxi the service was excellent. Good Luck with your new plans.
Thank you for taking the time to read and respond.
Oryx
Good Luck Mr. Craig
HHmmm.... let's wait and see..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heard your wife left you,
How upset you must be.
But don't fret about it...
She moved in with me.
I am writing in response to comments posted on this website, which relate to an article which appeared in the Gulf Times on the 17 December 08.
What was reported in the Gulf Times was a miss-quote. What I said was “Our aim is to ensure that we have enough taxis on the road to meet the demand of the public in Doha”.
We are working towards achieving this aim. For example, in the past 4 months we have increased the taxi fleet by 400 taxis. We will continue to increase the fleet and the number of drivers in 2009. We are also changing our call centre operations to reduce the waiting time for taxis.
We welcome your comments as this enables us to take action to resolve problems and improve our service. Problems and complaints should be reported to our Call Centre on 4588888 or fax 4588687. If the complaint is about a particular car or driver, we will need the car registration number and the time of day to identify the person involved. If the complaint is about the fare or meter charge, please ask the driver for a receipt as this has all of the details that we need to address your complaint. If you want to be informed of the outcome of your complaint tell us and we will get back to you.
Thank you for your comments.
Kind regards,
Craig Dalgleish
what we have?
... old streets which only had named houses and no numbers ...
if you are a "talented mid-eastern guy" try to make some order in Doha!
...let's start knowing the street we live in instead of using Landmarks, this round about, that round-about, this signal that signal, Lexus Tower, crazy junction....to guide people to our place, and know where a street is.
Can we have a Doha A to Z?
No need to make racist personal remarks.
Azi thanks for the balance and perspective on the situation.....
I think Mr Dalgleish needs to
a) check the drivers are being treated decently under their terms of employment
b) check that no one nationality is bullying another
Azi, that was ver nice of you to alert Mr Dalgleish, im not surprised he was misqouted, that the newspapers for you, theres always two sides of any story. Theres obviously a huge problem with Karwa and at least if hes aware then its something he can work on, which hopefully will benefit, both the company and the community.
[removed by mod and user banned]
and I'm sure he's reading all the comments posted here. Rest assured, all are noted...I guess.
and clearly inefficient from any stand point. The taxi-riding public has suffered for a long time...
@rmani
yeh rite ive heard they have 3000 cars waiting but no drivers.wat a shame.hope someone wakes up soon or everyone else will sleep
From what I was informed of, the above-mentioned interview was taken from the prescon about the LPG cars.
It seemed that it's either he was MISQUOTED or the reporter just took a portion/part of the interview THUS the whole context became DISTORTED and FAR from what Mr. Dalgleish really said.
If it's any consolation...Mr. Dalgleish read all your comments and he's SADDENED about the fact that HE WAS MISQUOTED. This news article came out Thursday and they (MOWASALAT) have called the reporter regarding this. Even the company's MANAGING DIRECTOR is aware of this now.
HEY, before anyone bite me about my comment, I'm not being paid for this. And it's been 2 years since i was under KARWA's employ but I still have friends there.
IMHO, Mr. Dalgleish is still new and he's trying to do what he can to resolve the issue (taxi availability) slowly but he can only do so much within the limits of what his position allows him to. Do remember fellow QLers, he's also an employee who reports to someone higher than him....
When i first came to Doha i got around happily in orange cabs..
When Karwa came along - the company proved an inspiration...to buy a car....
My advice...save up - buy a car!
I think the drivers are not treated well...and certainly many dont get proper training... one poor driver once said he had been driven round doha and that was it!
im one of hundreds commuters waiting for taxi... lol...lol...
believe i asked a karwa car one day they told me no one available but there is limousine so i took it next day i called even the limousine was not available
Karwa is conveniently making money on the side with their "limo" service. For what Karwa charge QR 15 Karwa-limo charge QR 40.
Mind you Karwa-limo is a sedan of almost the same make as the karwa. But interior is a little better maintained.
Eg Camry is used in Karwa. Accord is used in Karwa-limo....so?
So why should the Karwa come for normal Taxi service when they can make almost 3 times with Karwa-Limo.
There is never a dearth of limos...why?
Just follow the, uhh, timing of arrival on some bus stop nearest you.
...uhh, timing, uhh...
"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
what enough taxi????????? where is he living?????????
Even if karwa was available It wouldnt be able to stop on most of the roads.
Eg you cannot get a karwa to pullover to the side of almost the entire C-Ring road. There are 3 lanes and all 3 lanes are speeding with traffic. If the Karwa has to stop he has to find a serviceroad say 100m ahead.
If a Taxi cannot pullover on the biggest road in town....then shouldnt the road-desiners be blamed.
If a car break-downs or an vehicle is hit in an accident...what did the planners imagine?...The car-owner to carry the car over his shoulder over to the service road?
Qatar needs to kick these white devils out. They are here only for money and don't give a sh*T about Qatar and its people. Mo Fo Craig William Dalgleish, is a typical example of a white Satan who loves GCC easy oil money coz he couldn't make it in his white land. There's enough karwa cabs to meet my backside. Fire his white ass and hire a Mid-eastern guy, he'll do a much better demand.
to stand & wait 15 minutes or more for taxi....
Karwa sucks.. you got to plan according to their convenience... wht a joke..
You ask at 9 am.. they will say we have at 12..lol..
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Every society is judged by how
it treats it's least fortunates.
Yep your right there are very little Taxi's on Qatar. I Don't really need a Taxi but just Pointing out.
-Ali.
i experienced very bad situation last time i was going on vacation,when i called karwa to drop off at the airport they say all taxis are fully booked there is no way i can get a taxis,but how the hell i am supposed to go to the airport?
this still remains to be seen....
Azilana, please inform Mr.Dalgleish about hundred of Karwa cars which needs small maintenance and are idle in "I...o" yard or another places!
It's very costly to buy new cars but cheap to repair the few years old ones.
.
you kidding me? mr craig is the DIRECTOR of taxis. he's got like ten of them at his disposal anytime, anywhere!!!
i dare you mr. craig... try to call karwa right now and ask for the available booking.. sure enough it will be for tomorrow or the next day... so you were saying..????
it's really so freakin' frustrating...
The problem with Mr. Director is that he shouldn't have made such statement that Karwa is able to meet the demands of the customers cause it really can't at the moment. He could have said that they're trying their best to meet the demands of clients and stop at that. He should be more careful on what he says to the press unless he wants to be criticized for his statements and for his statement to backfire on him.
http://www.lifeonthespot.com
This situation is bad, and of course this guy knows it, but he can't admit that publicly.
Nobody likes Karwa, except the people who own it, because it's so profitable for them. The drivers hate it too, not only the passengers, they hate the cars, the way they are paid.. Seriously, try asking one, if you are lucky enough to get a karwa..
though to his PA who's a close friend of mine.
Don't worry...it'll reach him someway, somehow. ;-P
It's imbelievable how bad the situation is !!
Actually personally i havent had any problems with karwa, when i needed them as long as i booked them in advance, they have been reliable and knowledgable about the location of my destination. The only issue is that if you have a spontaneous trip, its not possible, theres always at least 5 hours wait, if there is one availabe. Hopefully things will improve.
Hope you and your family have a good christmas and new year too.xxx
and since I don't have a car anymore, my moving around and about DOHA is restricted to and from the office itself. I'd only book a karwa taxi at least 10 hours early and so far, I'm lucky I still get them on time or max 15 minutes late.
We can only keep our fingers crossed that things would be better this coming new year...for KARWA anf for all of us...
(Advance) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, your family and loved ones...
Hiya Azi,yes you are so polite girl, always trying to balance things out. Im sure he is trying his best. A friend of mine works for Karwa too, and they do their best, but the reality is that theres no taxis available unless you get lucky on the streets trying to hail one down or you can predict where you want to go beyond 24 hrs and book one, otherwise your dooomed.
I'm just trying to be POLITE...hehehehe
Being a former employee of Karwa, and most of my friends who works for the admin and management, I still have the inside information somehow.
Mr. Dalgleish is a very nice man and dedicated to his job. But he can do what can only do for what is available and his authority allows him to. But believe me, he's doing his damn very best.
Azi i dont think its something he doesnt know himself, but hes the director, what else is he supposed to say publicly..
and since I know the Director himself, and might meet him sometime next week, I'll try to get his opinion about this as well...
If I am this Craig guy, I would hide myself from the press and never to be seen in public again. This not just tarnish the company name but also himself as a professional. Always amazes me to see foolish people making statements like this. Oh dear me. God help Qatar with ppl like this running public operations.
i bet you!!! 100% this guy don't ride a taxi!!!! and hope this director must learn how to work a low life same us so he will know how we felt about this situation.
don't forget the " KARWA DRIVER QUESTIONS" :
1. "keedere?" (n.a. = where?)
2 "where are you from?"
3. "can i have your phone number?"(n.a.=for ladies)
.
KARWA SUCK!
Better than me!...:(
Karwa are rubbish,in my short time here I have had Kamikaze drivers , taxis ordered who turn up way way later than scheduled even after I made sure to order an hour in advance, drivers asking ME for directions ,or getting lost cos they dont know their way around the city yet either.
I often (try to) get a taxi from Um Ghuwalina to the Rugby Club (Doha College). I often set out strolling in the general direction and have twice made it all the way without seeing a single taxi for hire and on two other occasions got into a limo at the rank outside Jarir.
Karwa Truly SUCK!
Did you Google it first?
I came to Doha in 2002. and there was no any problem about taxis that time. a lot of orange taxis every where. It's true they were ugly looking, but at the end they'll drive you any where in a conditioned sedan car for much less that what's now.
so please Karwa. return us the Orange Era. you are supposed to develop with time not the opposite.
good luck for all who have less than 2 cars.
Mr. Craig William Dalgleish is totally right! Karwa has enough taxis but they don't have enough drivers. I heard from Karwa drivers that the turnover rate is quite high in Mowasalat.
Wow! They're asking me 10QRs over the same ride!...or sometimes 15QRs!!
Sometimes they even ask you to let them touch your legs!
"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
yeah sometimes they ask for QR 10.
Was also placed in a situtation where I needed a taxi for a week. I get to find "private" taxis when looking for a ride as it is difficult to find a Karwa taxi. "Private" taxis seems to outnumber Karawa taxis!
http://www.lifeonthespot.com
@ heero..cant blame me man, private taxis are always there whenever i needed one, maximum waiting time is 5 minutes and the drivers seem to know every nook and crannies of doha.
'where to?'
'national, how much?'
'7 riyals'
'ok let's go'
karwa taxis on the other hand are just so hard to find!
well what can we expect...WELCOME TO QATAR!
Hi there,
Karwa taxis are not available when you need them.
The cars are dirty inside and stink.So are most of the drivers due to exceptionally long hours they work and don’t give a damn about the cleanliness of the cab.
They are dangerous drivers. I have used Karwa three times in the past five months I have been in Doha and every time, I had to plead with the driver to slow down.
As a matter of fact I had the misfortune of using a Karwa taxi this morning (having left my car at the hotel last night as I didn’t want to drive after couple of pints) and when I asked the driver to slow down and stick to speed limits, his defense was:
1) I have been driving taxis for 3years and never met with an accident(well......who cares? I am concerned about my safety).
2) If I stick to speed limits, how do I make money?
I have now instructed my apartment reception NEVER to get me a Karwa if I asked for a Cab. My request to all expats is, even if it means double the fare, get the Limo service and at least you will have a peaceful & safe ride.
Mr Director, should you need to verify my statement above, email me at [email protected].
Cheers!
What do people consider an acceptable waiting time for a taxi?
i.e. how far in advance do you think you should have to ring for one?
Obviously the current situation is unacceptable and Karwa cabs do not meet demand. I think you should be able to get a cab within 30 minutes of phoning, or an hour at peak times. If that was the case I'd say they were meeting demand.
In spite of the weird customer service of Karwa taxis I'll still choose them over the 'private' ones.
It's, uhh, the, uhh, lesser 'evil'. LOL
"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
'private taxis' are more reliable than karwa taxis.
who cares??? their intention is to keep the taxis busy. Even if he comments 1 million taxis are free all the time we need to read it. Paper is not practical. With very expensive taxi fare like UK and US still here they make the passengers to suffer.
If you dont get taxi walk, spend sweat, stay in sunlight, loose weight. No need of Gym and running for an hour.
Luckily if you get taxi then think in another way that you are helping the taxi drivers who need to reach an impossible target.
This what all they want. Before start walking buy and keep many pairs of shoes. Coz they will increase the shoe price also. You cant expect humanity in business.
...but some taxis just...don't want to bring you to your destination.
For example, I have several encounters of Karwa taxis where I want them to bring me to National but refuses so because they'll go to the Airport or another route where some of their 'business' is or whatever their reasons may be.
Now there're also several Karwa taxis who doesn't even know where your destination is and you have to ask or show the driver directions where this place is.
Now that's customer service.
Crap.
"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
Gulf Times
"There are enough taxis to meet the needs of customers in Doha, feels Craig William Dalgleish......"
..........to heck with his feelings :p ..........
Apparently there are hundreds and hundreds of taxi off the road due to accidents...
I think Karwa needs to hire more analyst. Do they know what they're talking about? I see so many people on the streets waiting for taxis..
cheers,
paul
Director of Taxis? Lol...come on someones having a larf! That surely can't be his title!!!
joke...
so the question remains why cant you get a taxi unless its 24 hours advance booking. Once i tried to book a taxi at 12pm for 9am the following day, i was told theres no available taxis however if you try and book two days in advance it not allowed, so there...pretty reliable yeah.