Muhammad Raza Nasrat drives the first taxi to be equipped with a speed regulator.
Muhammad Raza Nasrat drives the first taxi to be equipped with a speed regulator.
Muhammad Raza Nasrat drives the first taxi to be equipped with a speed regulator.
Muhammad Raza Nasrat drives the first taxi to be equipped with a speed regulator.

Devices to put brakes on taxi drivers


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ABU DHABI // Taxi drivers will be prevented from exceeding 120kph with the introduction of speed-limiting devices in their vehicles. By the end of the month all seven firms operating the newer silver taxis will have to fit their cars with the devices, which will keep the vehicles below the national speed limit. Gold and white taxis, which are being slowly phased out, are exempt. The emirate's taxi regulator, TransAD, said the devices would prevent crashes.

The system was welcomed by taxi firm managers. "The main thing we are ensuring is the safety of the driver as well as the passengers, because we see so many of the accidents occur due to high speed only," said Yousuf Hussain, operations manager for Abu Dhabi's branch of Cars Taxi. "If he is doing 170kph then just a small diversion, another taxi, another vehicle, he can be in a bad accident. At the same time we ensure the safety of the passenger because they sometimes force the drivers to go more than 120kph."

The device will limit the flow of fuel to the vehicle's engine when 116kph is reached, causing the car to level out at 120kph. On the emirate's motorways, where many drivers travel at speeds exceeding 160kph, the move would leave a taxi driver with little choice but to stick to the slower lanes. "For the guys doing Al Ain trips, Dubai trips, it might be a bit boring," said Quentin Fulljames-Curtis, the taxi and limousine adviser for TransAD. "But that is the limit, let's see what the effect is on the accident rate."

A driver can override the system for 10 seconds by pressing an overdrive button located near the car radio controls or on the gear shift, allowing them to accelerate when they need to. Taxi drivers could in theory hit the booster button continuously, but the companies are able to track the number of times it is pressed and could reprimand those who over-use it. Up until now, companies have only been able to check a driver's top speed at the end of a shift and sanction them for going too fast. A driver with the taxi firm, Tawasul Taxi, who asked not to be named, admitted he had been pressured by passengers to exceed the speed limit on the motorways.

"I have been doing only 120 and the passenger is like this, 'I have a meeting there, please make 140'," he said. "I tell them it is very dangerous, but they do request." Mr Hussain said limiters were already installed in Cars Taxi operating in other emirates, with positive results. While he said no vehicles had been involved in major crashes in Abu Dhabi, Cars Taxi has punished a few drivers caught doing more than 140kph, and in some cases 160kph.

About three per cent of the company's taxi drivers make a trip on a motorway each day, Mr Hussain said. The average length of a trip for taxis in Abu Dhabi is 5.1km. The move is the latest improvement for cabs in Abu Dhabi, as the Government seeks to modernise the emirate's taxi fleet and create an integrated transport system. Silver taxis are also being fitted with infrared motion sensors or seat sensors that start the meter running automatically once a passenger is seated. Global positioning devices are also being installed and a call centre booking system is being tested.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Getting there

The flights

Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.

The stay

Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.

Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com

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Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors

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