The pink O Taxis have been doing the rounds but the official launch took place on Tuesday coinciding with the International Women’s Day held at Muscat Mall.
“The idea was to introduce the concept of taxi service by women operated by O Taxis. Today we were explaining about how it is going to be and the brand. We heard from the female drivers about their experiences,” said the Marketing Director and Project Manager Shaikha Ambuali.
The service is the first woman taxi service in the Sultanate of Oman and was sanctioned to add the new service in January but within a short period of time women have joined the force. On Tuesday, the company announced at the event that 26 female drivers have joined the service.
The concept was launched and the female passengers have also been excited about the new facility in public transportation. The launch event gave a view on how it has been since the concept of the pink O Taxi was announced and up till now.
“We believe it is a journey, and this is one of the stations. We think it will have a big impact on society whether male or female. We invited the female drivers to join forces with us as it provides a good opportunity to earn money and is a great way to utilise time. The job provides a great amount of flexibility as one does not have to work nine to five. With whatever time you have one can make money by driving and dropping off guests,” explained Shaikha.
Only women and families will be allowed in pink O Taxis.
“Listening to the 26 drivers, it was clear that they are very happy with the services economically and socially as well,” the project manager pointed out.
These are the criteria to be a women taxi driver at O Taxi; the driver must have own car, the car has to be painted white and pink, must have had valid driving licence for at least three years, age range is between 21 to 60 years and the automobile model should not be a hatchback or four wheel.
The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology gave its approval to provide women taxi service via O Taxi app on demand, both for immediate and advance bookings. The service offers online tracking of taxi routes at fixed prices set prior to the start of the trips.
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