Walk-in interviews to be held to recruit drivers for govt’s taxi line

Walk-in interviews will be held to recruit drivers for the government’s taxi line.

Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), which will manage the government’s taxi line, said the walk-in interviews are being held to recruit part-time drivers.

In this regard, the walk-in interview will be held from 10:00am to 18:00om on Saturday, at Maafannu Bus Terminal near Male’ Industrial Village.

Prospective applicants have been instructed to bring their ID cards and driver’s licenses when attending the interview.

MTCC opened applications seeking 407 drivers – 285 full-time and 122 part-time – for the government’s taxi line on November 19^th. However, sources report that there were insufficient applicants.

According to the announcement, the full-time drivers will be working eight-hour shifts six days a week, and will be hired for one-year contracts, which will be renewed based on performance.

Meanwhile, the working hours of part-time drivers will be limited to 28 hours per week.

MTCC said further information regarding the job, including salary and allowances, will be disclosed at a later time.

Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen had earlier announced that the taxi service — a fully electric fleet — would launch in July of last year. However, in June he acknowledged that the government would miss the original target, explaining that additional time was needed to custom-build the vehicles, with August set as the revised launch date.

That deadline was also not met.

In September, Ameen said the project was in its final stages and that vehicle modifications were underway, but he declined to give a new timeline for when the service would begin.

The decision by the government to introduce a taxi line has prompted backlash from the private sector who are strongly against the move over the implications it could have on privately-operated taxis.