Taxicab Service in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi Taxis: Six Years of Trial and Error

So I've been living in Abu Dhabi since 2018, and man, figuring out the taxi situation here was a journey. Those official silver cabs everywhere? Yeah, they're reliable but holy expensive! I was dropping like 800 dirhams monthly just on airport runs until my neighbor Khalid introduced me to Careem. Game changer - suddenly I'm saving 20-30% on identical trips. Uber exists here but honestly, it's hit or miss. Sometimes you wait 15 minutes, sometimes nobody shows up at all.

Let's talk money because this stuff adds up fast. Quick trips around Corniche cost about 25-35 dirhams in regular taxis - not terrible. But airport runs from my place near Khalifa Park? That's 65-80 dirhams depending on whether you hit rush hour traffic. Here's what nobody warns you about: some drivers conveniently "forget" to turn on the meter during busy times. Happened to me three times before I learned to be that annoying passenger who points at the meter before we move. My coworker Ahmed got burned so bad by this he only uses the official taxi app now.

What Actually Gets You Around

After years of trying everything:

• Those silver official taxis - expensive but they actually show up when called
• Careem - my go-to now, prices make sense and drivers know the city
• Uber - exists in theory, often disappoints in practice
• ADNOC taxi thing - newer cars, decent rates if you book regular trips

Summer changes everything though. Standing outside waiting for taxis in July heat is basically torture. That's when ride-hailing apps become lifesavers - you can see exactly when your ride's arriving instead of melting on the sidewalk. Airport taxi queues during Eid or summer holidays? Forget about it. I once waited 45 minutes at Terminal 3 just to get a cab. Mall pickup zones work way better than trying to flag down street taxis. Oh, and always carry cash - those card readers have this mysterious habit of breaking whenever surge pricing kicks in!

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