Deadline for taxi meter adjustment extended to March

AMMAN — The Land Transport Regulatory Commission (LTRC) has extended the deadline for adjusting taxi meters to reduce fares until the beginning of March, a municipal official said on Wednesday. 

Abdul Rahim Wreikat, director of the Greater Amman Municipality’s public transport operations department, said the municipality and the Jordan Standards and Metrology Organisation will start labelling vehicles with meters operating according to the new price system. 

“The drivers of cars that do not have the labels will be considered as violators of the law who charge higher prices,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone. 

Ahmad Abu Haidar, president of the Transport Services and Taxi Owners Union, said the deadline was extended because drivers did not implement the changes in protest against the new prices. 

“They believe that the prices are not fair and they have many expenses to meet,” Abu Haidar added. 

In January, the LTRC decided to cut taxi fares by 10 per cent in light of the drop in oil prices, after a review of the operational costs of the different means of public transport, giving taxi drivers two weeks to comply.

The morning fare for taxis has been reduced to 19 fils for every 100 metres, and the night fare has been decreased to 25 fils for every 100 metres. 

Abu Haidar claimed that the market already faces “unfair competition”. 

“There are many motorists who own private cars and operate them as taxis, and this affects our business negatively. We believe that our market is unprotected.” 

He noted that around 17,000 taxis operate in the Kingdom, 11,400 of which are in Amman.