Why do Dubai taxis have different colour roofs?

Have you spotted the rare colour of purple taxis though?

Ah, a question we have all asked ourselves after moving to Dubai or simply visiting on a holiday. Why are there different colour roofs on the Hala taxis in Dubai? We’re here to solve that question for you.

If you’ve hopped in a Hala taxi in Dubai, you’ll notice a sand cream colour on the body of the car, with a different colour on the roof. If you’ve ever wondered what it meant, essentially, the different roofs represent different parent companies of taxis in Dubai. Taxis with a red roof, you’ll see them if you’re getting one from DXB Airport, are Dubai Taxi Company (DTC) who have approximately 9,500 taxis on the roads of Dubai.

For yellow roofs, the company is National Taxi which was the first taxi company established in Dubai in 2000, for green it’s Arabia Taxi, for blue its Cars Taxi, an orange roof is rare but that company represents Metro Taxi.

Have you spotted the rare purple taxi? This represents City Taxi and there are only a few of them in the city, so if you see one, maybe it’s a sign of luck?

There is one exception – the pink roof means that it’s a ladies’ taxi, with a female driver. These taxis are specifically for families and ladies of all nationalities. They are often larger taxis too to accommodate larger families. These are also part of the DTC and they can be requested via the S’hail App. Read more about the pink taxis here.

What is a Hala Taxi?

Hala is a greeting in Arabic that can mean ‘hello’ or ‘welcome’ so it’s a fitting name to have for the taxis of Dubai. They were founded in 2019 as a collaboration between Careem and RTA (Roads and Transport Authority)

You can easily book your ride through the Careem App and there is real-time tracking so you can see exactly where your taxi is when it’s on the way to you. There are also other options to make sure you get exactly what you want such as Hala Max which is for up to six people, Hala EV which is an electric ride for up to four people and Hala Kids that is an affordable ride with a child seat.

There are lots of options to suit everyone.

How much is a Hala Taxi in Dubai?

The fare depends on distance travelled with minimum fare starting at is Dhs12.

Dubai’s public transport is developing all the time. Recently it was announced that an RTA Rail Bus will be the newest addition to the emirate’s public transport system. Dubai is also due to get an underground loop which will be developed by Elon Musk’s company.