This is going to make roads a lot safer (and everyone deserves a day off).

Excited over the news that self driving taxis are soon going to be a thing? Can’t wait to test out Dubai’s flying taxi service? Well, there’s now even more good news for Dubai taxis.

At the start of the year, the RTA announced that taxi drivers in Dubai will be given a weekly paid day-off by mid-2017 (currently, many Dubai taxi drivers work seven days a week), and we now know that it’s just started to come into effect. The RTA are calling the day a “weekly holiday”.

This comes as part of a bigger plan of 64 initiatives to improve DTC (Dubai Taxi Corporation) services, and a further 22 initiatives designed to improve the happiness of employees by 2021.

And now the Khaleej Times reports that this has started being rolled out, with a weekly paid day off now being given to all cabbies.

Dr. Yousef Al Ali, Executive Director of Dubai Taxi Foundation, said: “The launch of the system comes as part of the company’s keenness to provide relief to drivers from physical and mental workload.”

“With drivers well rested, it will also improve safety levels on the roads,” he said.

Driver motivation and wellbeing is a part of the RTA’s Dubai Taxi Corporation improvement plans. Last month they marked the onset of the Holy month of Ramadan with free Ramadan Tent Events for their employees. These included a daily mass iftar, a full package of recreational events as well as daily cultural quizzes.

“Staging these Ramadan events reflects DTC’s keenness to realise drivers’ satisfaction and happiness, and enhances its social responsibility towards employees to instill the moral values of the blessed month of Ramadan. DTC believes that whatever gives pleasure and satisfaction to drivers would have a positive bearing on their performance to serve the public, DTC’s customers, taxi users and recipients of services,” concluded the CEO of Dubai Taxi Corporation.

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