Ramon Peñas Jr / The National
Ramon Peñas Jr / The National

Where is the cheapest — and most expensive — city in the world to take a taxi?



It's one of the first things you notice after you arrive in the UAE. After the sweltering heat and the impressive skylines, a cab ride through the city — depending on where you've come from — usually yields a remark from a newbie about how reasonable the cab fares are.

It might surprise you then, that the UAE is not one of the cheapest countries in the world to take a taxi. It doesn't even make the top 25.

If you're about to hop in a cab in Cairo though, you're in luck. The Egyptian capital has taken out the top spot in the 2017 Taxi Price Index, which ranks the cost of taking a cab in 80 of the world's most well-known cities.

Compiled by online car dealership Carspring, the European company acknowledges its methods aren't watertight — having gathered much of its data from official online websites for each city — but the results nonetheless tell a story many might have predicted.

A number of factors were taken into consideration in the listing — the cost of hailing a taxi, the cost per kilometre, the cost of waiting time, a typical fare for a taxi from the airport to the city centre, and even what car model is most popular with cab drivers — to assign a score to, and rank each city.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, major western European centres cluster around the bottom of the rankings with London, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Tokyo, Geneva and Zurich reiterating why you should be utilising the public transport networks in each of these cities.

However, if you're about to take a trip to Cairo — hail away. A trip to the airport will cost you, on average, Dh15.28, and the average cost per kilometre is just Dh4 - which is Dh15 cheaper per kilometre than in Zurich.

Mumbai, Jakarta, Bucharest, and Mexico City round out the top five places where taking a taxi won't set you back much more than a public transport ticket elsewhere in the world.

Coming in at number 26, Dubai is the only emirate to be included in the index.

Wedged in between Tallinn, in Estonia, and Budapest, in Hungary, Dubai earned it's spot on a variety of factors the index, most notably for its cheap airport to city centre fares and it's relatively competitive prices per kilometre.

At cost per kilometre, Dubai came in at number 20 on the list, with each kilometre costing passengers Dh2.05. However, it fared much worse in the initial hiring flag fall, with a steep average of Dh10.72 earning Dubai a fairly run-of-the-mill number 45.

Where the UAE does succeed, however, is apparently in the price of a trip from the airport to the city centre. In this category, Dubai comes in at an overall number 5 in the world, with a trip from Dubai International to the city centre costing an average of Dh30.2. However, the survey does not say exactly where in the city this bargain taxi fare will get you to, and it is assumed the Dh25 airport opening fare was not included.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, London is well on its way to taking out the top spot as the world's most expensive places to take a cab. With an airport to city centre price tag of Dh263, and a charge per kilometre of Dh4.80, the English capital is in good company at number 75 on the list — beaten only by Helsinki, Copenhagen, Tokyo, Geneva and Zurich.

Coming in at a hefty Dh18.90 per kilometre, a whopping Dh255.10 from the airport to the city centre, and an eye-watering Dh301.8 wait time per hour - the Swiss moneymaking mecca of Zurich is more than worthy to hold the 'most expensive' title.

Unless you're in Tokyo that is, and only ever travelling between the airport and city centre, in which case avoid cabs at all costs — unless you can afford the Dh690.8 price tag.

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THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

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At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site

The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.

Leap of Faith

Michael J Mazarr

Public Affairs

Dh67
 

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Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
  • Drones
  • Animals
  • Fireworks/ flares
  • Radios or power banks
  • Laser pointers
  • Glass
  • Selfie sticks/ umbrellas
  • Sharp objects
  • Political flags or banners
  • Bikes, skateboards or scooters
The specs

Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV

Power: 360bhp

Torque: 500Nm

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Price: from Dh282,870

On sale: now

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

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The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

While you're here
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Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs

Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

Power: 271 and 409 horsepower

Torque: 385 and 650Nm

Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills