Muscat: The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology will start activating the application of digital meters to determine the transportation tariff for public taxi vehicles. The activation of “Aber” digital meters will start on the first of June, 2023.
Through the application of the digital meter "Aber", the Ministry seeks to regulate the activity of taxis in the Sultanate of Oman, in line with plans to use modern digital technologies and in implementation of the provisions of Ministerial Resolution No. 195/2018 issued on December 26, 2018 regarding determining the transportation tariff for public taxis in the Sultanate of Oman.
The application of the “Aber” digital counter for the use of roaming taxi drivers calculates the distance and time traveled per trip and also determines the total cost of the trip.
The application is also an alternative to the traditional counter for calculating the transportation tariff.
The fare for the transportation service paid by the beneficiary to the driver of the public taxi has been fixed at the minimum of (300) baizas at the start of the service (when riding the car). An amount of (130) baizas will be added for each (1) kilometer. In the case of multiple passengers, the fare is divided equally among them per trip.
In addition, (50) baisas will be added for each waiting minute after five free minutes have passed. The public taxi driver is obligated to run the “Aber” application at the start of the trip. The transportation fare is considered free if the public taxi driver does not launch the application at the start of the trip.
Taxi drivers can download the application via smart phones, on the Android or IOS system, or both, in the Sultanate of Oman.
This step comes to achieve the objectives of the public transport strategy and its implementation plans, within the framework of the Ministry's efforts to regulate the activity of taxis in the Sultanate of Oman, and in line with plans to use modern digital technologies.