DTC opens Abu Dhabi fare talks after National Taxi acquisition, expands autonomous fleet

DTC opens Abu Dhabi fare talks after National Taxi acquisition, expands autonomous fleet

Dubai Taxi Company has opened discussions with the Abu Dhabi Government on revising taxi fares after completing its acquisition of National Taxi, though no changes have been approved and the final decision rests with the authorities.

Mansoor Rahma Alfalasi, Group CEO of Dubai Taxi Company, confirmed the talks during an interview, saying the company sees scope for a review of Abu Dhabi's taxi fares, which are lower than those charged in Dubai. Asked whether DTC was speaking with the Abu Dhabi Government about revising fares, Alfalasi said the company had just started the discussions.

The discussions follow DTC's Dh1.45 billion acquisition of National Taxi, which was founded in 2000 and completed 25.4 million trips in the year ended 31 July 2025. The acquired company recorded a 98 per cent fleet utilisation rate and generated Dh774 million in net revenue alongside Dh183 million in EBITDA during that period. The transaction was structured as a 100 per cent acquisition funded through new bank debt facilities with no equity issuance and no dilution to existing DTC shareholders, and is expected to be earnings accretive from the first full year of ownership.

The acquisition gave DTC control of 1,734 licensed taxi plates in Dubai and 800 plates in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. The supply of taxi plates in both emirates is tightly regulated and subject to controlled issuance, creating a high barrier to entry. The deal gave DTC an estimated 12 per cent share of Abu Dhabi's taxi market and increased its Dubai market share from 47 per cent to around 59 per cent.

Fare decision requires government approval

Alfalasi said DTC would provide operating data and other evidence to the relevant authorities when making its case for a fare review, while considering the impact of any proposed change on passengers. The company cannot set uniform taxi prices across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain because fares are determined separately by the authorities in each emirate. Any revision would therefore require government approval, and Alfalasi did not provide a proposed fare level or timeline for a decision.

Dubai already operates a mechanism through which the Roads and Transport Authority reviews the running-kilometre component of taxi fares every two months in response to fuel price movements. The per-kilometre rate has fluctuated between approximately Dh1.97 and Dh2.26 depending on fuel costs. The authority can increase, maintain or reduce the rate depending on changes in fuel costs, meaning some fluctuations are reflected in the amount paid by passengers.

According to Numbeo data, the UAE's average taxi fare of Dh2.50 per kilometre ranks 76th globally, making it among the most affordable destinations worldwide for taxi travel, far cheaper than Switzerland at Dh17.26, Japan at Dh11.94 and Germany at Dh10.58.

DTC also received Dh25.6 million in taxi vehicle fee reductions from the RTA covering March, April and May, providing partial relief after weaker passenger demand during the second quarter.

National Taxi integration begins

DTC expects the integration of National Taxi to produce early operational savings, while other benefits will be delivered over a period of up to three years. Initial measures include extending DTC's discounted fuel agreement with Enoc and combining the procurement of spare parts and other operational requirements. Alfalasi said some of the benefits would be introduced within the coming months, while more complex integration measures would take longer to complete.

The combined DTC and National Taxi fleet is expected to exceed 14,000 vehicles as of May 2026, serving an estimated 78 million annual trips across the UAE. DTC is also preparing to operate through Bolt in Ajman and is considering opportunities in Sharjah and other cities across the UAE. The company remains open to expansion through conventional taxi operations, ride-hailing services and delivery businesses where commercially viable opportunities emerge.

Autonomous taxi expansion accelerates

DTC has started testing 50 autonomous taxis through its partnership with Baidu's Apollo Go and plans to increase the fleet to as many as 1,000 vehicles over the next two to three years. The partnership received Dubai's first-ever driverless testing permit for fully autonomous vehicles without a safety driver in January 2026, and launched fully driverless commercial ride-hailing services in Dubai via the Apollo Go app in April 2026.

Alfalasi said the expansion phase is expected to begin in early 2027 once the current trials have been completed, although the company has not disclosed how many autonomous taxis will be added during the first year. The initial trial will test passenger safety, technical performance and the vehicles' ability to operate under road conditions specific to Dubai, including roundabouts, which autonomous vehicles must learn to navigate before the service can be introduced across a wider area.

As of February 2026, Apollo Go fleets had accumulated more than 300 million autonomous kilometres globally, including over 190 million fully driverless kilometres, with an airbag-deployment incident for every 12 million kilometres driven. The vehicles use machine learning systems that continue gathering information from the conditions encountered during daily testing.

DTC's autonomous expansion forms part of the Dubai Autonomous Transportation Strategy, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which aims to transform 25 per cent of transportation to autonomous by 2030. The strategy is expected to save $6 billion in annual economic revenues, reduce transportation costs by 44 per cent, reduce traffic accidents and losses by 12 per cent equivalent to savings of $544 million annually, and save 396 million hours on transportation trips yearly by 2030. The RTA has plans to introduce 4,000 autonomous vehicles for taxi services by 2030 as part of the broader strategy.

Taxi demand shows recovery

DTC expects passenger activity to strengthen during the fourth quarter after taxi and limousine demand recovered progressively between April and June. Taxi and limousine trips were about 36.7 per cent lower year-on-year in April, before the decline narrowed to 24.4 per cent in May and 11.2 per cent in June. Trip volumes increased by about 31 per cent between April and June, with the return of residents after the summer and an improvement in tourism expected to support further demand.

Alfalasi said a fuller recovery in passenger demand could begin in early 2027, with airport traffic and international visitor numbers remaining central to the performance of DTC's taxi and limousine businesses. The bus and delivery bike divisions were less affected by the decline in tourism because they operate across different customer segments.

Airport demand weighs on second-quarter results

DTC completed 10.3 million taxi and limousine trips during the second quarter, compared with 13.6 million during the same period last year. Quarterly revenue declined 22.5 per cent year-on-year to Dh484.5 million, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation fell 57.2 per cent to Dh77.2 million.

Net profit reached Dh10.4 million, compared with Dh105.4 million during the second quarter of 2025, while first-half net profit totalled Dh61.1 million. Taxi revenue declined to Dh396.8 million and limousine revenue fell to Dh24.5 million following weaker airport and tourism-related activity during April and May.

Delivery bike revenue increased 53.1 per cent to Dh27.9 million, while bus revenue rose 2.3 per cent to Dh32 million, supported by long-term government contracts. DTC's total operating fleet reached 11,928 vehicles at the end of June, including 6,522 taxis and 669 fully electric vehicles.