Launch of gov’t taxi service delayed from July to August

Although the government had previously announced that the taxi line service would launch in July, the rollout has now been postponed.

The government has decided to provide taxi services in the Greater Malé Region (GMR), with the service assigned to Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) for commencement. The work was assigned to the company during February 2025.

After that, Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Mohamed Ameen revealed that the taxi line service would start within July. At that time, Minister Ameen had said that it was estimated that the service would start at the end of June or early July.

However, Ameen has since said that the taxi line service will not commence in early July and has now been delayed to commence early August. Ameen said this in a special interview given to state media.

As such, Ameen said that a lot of work needs to be done before commencing the taxi line service.

The transport minister has also said that the service cannot be started just by bringing the cars required to begin the service. As such, it has been said that the production work needed for the taxi line service will start throughout June.

Addressing the issue in an interview, the minister explained that the required taxis are not off-the-shelf models. He noted that customizing the vehicles to the government’s specifications and equipping them accordingly will inevitably lead to some adjustments.

Ameen emphasized that, according to the current timeline, the taxi line service launch will not be delayed beyond late August.

As the government is working to start the taxi service and is preparing to launch it, taxi drivers have expressed many concerns about it. They have also said that it will cause many losses to the private individuals who do this work.