The taxi line that was introduced by the government as a solution to the difficulties faced in public transport now has a phone number in service.
The Male' Taxi Line service, awarded to the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), is currently being prepared and will require an application to request for a taxi. The company said that the service will be available 24 hours a day.
MTCC has introduced the number that will be in use to get in contact with the taxi line: 1655.
Even though Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Mohamed Ameen stated previously that the taxi line service will begin in July 2025, the introduction of the service has been delayed. The decision was also made to introduce the service during the recent Fitr Eid.
MTCC is currently working on finding drivers for the taxi line. Rounds of interviews have been conducted as well.
At the time, MTCC said that 407 drivers were needed for the service, with 122 of them to be part-time workers.
During the press conference that was held at the President's Office earlier this month, Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Mohamed Ameen stated that they are working to introduce the government's taxi line service before Ramadan ends.
However, the service still has not started due to various reasons.
Minister Ameen said previously that work is currently ongoing to bring three models of cars to the Maldives, divided into two batches, to start the taxi service. The first batch is being brought from Thailand, and 60 cars of the model will be imported from that country, he said. He added that the cars of the remaining two models are being brought from China.
The government decided to enter the taxi business because of the difficulties the public faces in obtaining taxis due to the issue of approximately 1,500 currently registered taxi cars coming out only at times the drivers want and only taking trips to places they prefer.
