National Taxi Dubai

What Is National Taxi in Dubai?

National Taxi LLC is the licensed franchise behind Dubai's cream taxis with a yellow roof, and since 8 July 2026 it has been wholly owned by Dubai Taxi Company (DTC). The company was set up in June 2000 and put its first 50 cars on the road on 12 August that year, under a franchise from the RTA's Dubai Taxi Agency. A second branch launched in Abu Dhabi on 4 November 2007, so the same name now covers taxis in Dubai, Abu Dhabi city and Al Ain.

For a passenger, three facts matter more than the owner: a yellow roof runs the same RTA meter as any Dubai taxi, it cannot be booked by phone, and complaints or lost items go through the RTA. The figures below come from DTC's filings on the purchase.

National Taxi at a Glance

Who Owns National Taxi Now?

Dubai Taxi Company owns all of it. DTC is a public joint stock company listed on the Dubai Financial Market, and it bought 100 percent of National Taxi's shares in a deal that closed on 8 July 2026. The steps, as DTC announced them:

The purchase made DTC the largest taxi operator in the UAE, with a combined taxi fleet it put at more than 9,500 vehicles. Its share of the Dubai taxi market rose from 47 percent to about 59 percent, so National on its own accounted for roughly one Dubai taxi in eight. Through National's cars, DTC now also holds about 12 percent of the Abu Dhabi taxi market. DTC has not named the sellers, describing them only as National's existing shareholders.

Two points in the press coverage need correcting. Some headlines called National an Abu Dhabi company, but it began in Dubai in 2000 and opened its Abu Dhabi branch seven years later. And DTC is not part of the RTA: it is a listed company that the RTA licenses, just as it licenses National. National's 800 plates in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain run on that emirate's own meter, which our Abu Dhabi taxi fare guide breaks down.

Will Yellow-Roof Taxis Turn Red?

Nothing announced so far says they will. When it agreed the purchase in May 2026, DTC said it intended to keep the National Taxi brand and integrate the business only in part: the customer-facing operation stays as National, while finance, procurement and back-office work move into the DTC group. Neither the completion announcement in July nor DTC's first-half results, which list the integration of National Taxi among its priorities, mentioned a new livery.

In October 2026, then, a yellow roof still means a National car, now owned by the same group as the red roofs and the pink taxis for women and families. Our guide to Dubai taxi roof colours explains what the other colours on the road mean.

What Is the National Taxi Dubai Contact Number?

National Taxi's own website lists +971 4 327 4666 for its head office, which handles administration only, and +971 4 339 0002 for its Dubai taxi station in Al Quoz. Neither number books a taxi, and for a complaint or a lost item the RTA call centre on 800 90 90 is the line that can trace a car. Every contact below appears on a company or government page:

Can You Book a National Taxi?

You can get one through an app, but you cannot pick it. In February 2026, months before the takeover, National signed an alliance with DTC and Bolt that put 1,823 of its Dubai cars on the Bolt app, and DTC names Careem's Hala service, Uber, Yango and Zed as the other digital channels where National earns metered fares. Each app sends whichever licensed taxi it matches to you, so a yellow roof turning up is chance. Our guide to booking a taxi in Dubai compares the apps, the ranks and the hotel desk.

To ride with National in particular, hail one: a yellow roof with its sign lit is free. Expect the apps to matter more each year, since DTC cited a Dubai Government target of moving 80 percent of street-hail trips onto e-hailing.

Does a Yellow Roof Cost More?

No. National Taxi charges the RTA's regulated tariff, the same meter used under every Dubai roof colour, and DTC describes National's income as regulated, meter-based fares from street hails and apps alike. A booking made through an app starts from a higher fare than a taxi hailed on the street; the current figures are in our UAE taxi fare guide.

Ignore the tariff page on National's own website. It is marked as last modified in July 2019, still announces a 50 percent Covid-19 discount and quotes the rates of that year. The meter in the car and your receipt are the numbers that count.

Can a National Taxi Pick You Up at the Airport?

No. Taxi pickups at Dubai's airports and at the Port Rashid cruise terminal are a DTC service, run with DTC's own cars from a starting fare of AED 20, or AED 25 for a van. A yellow-roof car can drop you at departures like any licensed taxi, but the arrivals queue is served by DTC. DTC has announced no plan to put its newly bought yellow roofs on the airport ranks.

How Do You Complain About a National Taxi?

Take it to the RTA, which licenses National along with every other Dubai operator: call 800 90 90, message +971 58 800 9090 on WhatsApp, or email [email protected]. A complaint the RTA can act on gives the taxi number, the date, the time and the pickup and drop-off points, all of which sit on a printed or SMS receipt or in your app's trip history. Say the roof was yellow and the operator National Taxi, and get the reference number before the call ends.

DTC's contact page carries a complaint form and the line 800 88088, but nothing on it says those channels cover National's cars yet. Treat them as a second route if an RTA case stalls rather than the first call. Every RTA channel, the overseas number included, is set out on our Dubai taxi number page.

Lost Something in a Yellow-Roof Taxi?

Report it to the RTA as soon as you notice, on 800 90 90 or in the RTA app under Feedback, then Lost & Found. Describe the item and give the trip's start and end points, the date and time, and the receipt if you kept one. Mention the yellow roof, because naming the operator narrows the search to one company's cars. National's own lost and found page has no reporting form, only the office numbers listed above.

The RTA's lost and found team logged 104,162 reports of property left in Dubai taxis during 2025 and says it reaches most people within two hours. Cash fares, missing receipts and app bookings each change the routine a little, and our Dubai taxi lost and found guide covers all three.

When a Pre-Booked Car Makes More Sense

A National Taxi suits a short trip you can hail on the spot. It suits a fixed time much less: a 4 a.m. departure, a family with heavy cases landing at DXB, or a day split between two emirates. None of those can be reserved with a yellow roof.

With Gulf Chauffeur the car, the driver and the price are settled before the day: send the start, the destination and the time on WhatsApp, and a fixed price comes back for you to confirm before you travel. At the airport your driver waits inside arrivals with a name board.