Taxis in Idlib: High Fares and Scarcity of Passengers

(Eqtsad) Abu Stayef, a taxi driver in Idlib, believes that the profits from his profession were much higher before the start of the war in Syria.

Abu Stayef has been a taxi driver for 40 years, working in Idlib and Hama passing through Homs and each reaching the capital Damascus.

“In the old days… my income was very good, people took taxis because of their cheap prices, and today it has become rare for anyone to take one of our cars… the fares are very high,” said Abu Stayef as the car shook as it drove on a sandy road in one of the forgotten villages in Idlib’s countryside.

“Look… like these roads caused us a lot of problems, they ruin the car and the parts are very expensive these days!”

In a similar conversation, a taxi driver called Abu Jassem revealed other details about the rise in taxi fares in Idlib city and its countryside.

Speaking to Eqtsad, Abu Jassem said, “the main reason for the rise or decrease in the taxi fares is petrol, so when a liter of benzene is 200 Syrian Pounds (SP) a passenger going from Idlib to Ariha paid 1200 SP, and now a liter of benzene is 450 SP and so we take 2500 SP.”

-No Meters-

The drivers crowded at the Oum Harib roundabout in Idlib city do not use meters to count the number of kilometers they cover in their journeys to countryside areas. In all these journeys, passengers bargain with the driver about a specific fare before the ignition is started and the car moves to the required destination.

One of the passengers Eqtsad spoke to about the issue said most of the drivers ask for fares based on the number of kilometers they cross. He clarified, “usually they ask for 3000 SP for 20 kilometers and 4000 SP for 30 kilometers, and so on.”

Fares are calculated based on these measures in most of the areas in Idlib except for mountainous villages which one of the Taxi drivers explained that he takes double the fare if the destination is a mountainous city or village.

Abu Kinan added that the increase in the price of benzene and the lack of liquidity among residents has led to a decline in the profession. He complained about the lack of passengers and that residents prefer to question passing private cars and ride those from city to city, “the people are very poor,” Abu Kinan concluded.

-Fares-

In a bid to gather an approximation of the fares to ride a taxi from Idlib city to the other cities and villages, Eqtsad undertook a survey of the prices asked by taxi drivers. The list is as follows:

Idlib-Sarmin 1500 SP

Idlib-Muhanbal 5000 SP

Idlib-Jisr Ash Shugur 6000 SP.

Idlib- Ariha 2000 SP

Idlib- al-Mastumah 1500 SP

Idlib- Qalaat Madiq 18,000 SP

Idlib- Urum 3500 SP

Idlib- al-Zardanet 3500 SP

Idlib- Haznu 3500 SP

Idlib- Saraqib 3500 SP.

Idlib0 Maarrat Misrin 2500 SP.

Idlib- Bab al-Hawa 5000 SP.