The first batch of cars for the government taxi line service, under the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), was delivered to the country on Tuesday (March 24).
MTCC said the first shipment of 60 cars arrived on Tuesday, and the remaining 90 cars will arrive next week.
The government announced the introduction of a government taxi line in the Male' region on July 25, 2024, at the launch of the Male' Fahi programme. However, the government said the service would not be launched due to protests by taxi drivers.
The decision was reversed less than three months after the government assured taxi drivers that it would not start the service.
In late October 2024, Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen informed the Economic Committee of the parliament that the government would launch a taxi line. He said the government's intention was to hand over the work to a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE).
MTCC was selected for the service in February 2025. The company was tasked with providing taxi services using 100 percent electric vehicles (EVs).
MTCC was awarded the contract to introduce the service in three phases. Under the first phase, the service will be provided in Male', Hulhule' and Hulhumale'. The service will be expanded to Villimale', Thilafushi and Gulhifalhu during the second phase, while it will further be expanded to Rasmale' and Giraavaru Falhu under the third phase.
The service was originally planned to be launched in the first week of July last year, and a second deadline was given for August. Two months after the date, Ameen came to the parliament and said it would start in January 2026. He later said the service would start during Eid al-Fitr.
More than a year after the project was awarded to MTCC, with the arrival of the first shipment of cars, the company now says it will start service early next month.
The taxi line service is unpopular with taxi drivers, but this is a decision that has great public support.
