By June next year, the nearly 8,000 taxis in Abu Dhabi emirate will be fitted with CCTV cameras, as an added measure for passenger security.

The Centre for Regulation of Transport by Hire Cars has announced that the first phase of the projects already started last week, with the installation of the CCTV cameras in a fleet of 100 taxis that vary in type, to test the cameras' quality and effectiveness.

If all goes according to plan, all Abu Dhabi taxis will then be fitted with security cameras in 2016.

General manager of the Centre for Regulation of Transport by Hire Cars, Mohamed Darwish Al Qemzi, said: "The safety of passengers and their belongings is the responsibility of the Centre, therefore we focus all our efforts on providing safe and sustainable services to the customers.”

According to a spokesperson of the centre, the CCTV cameras will record both image and sound and they will cover the entire space of the taxi. For the Centre's newest fleet of taxis, the 270 Mercedes Vito vans that can accommodate five passengers in the back, while the front, separated by a glass panel, may be used for luggage, there will be two CCTV cameras installed to cover both the driver's side and the passengers' side of the car.

The CCTV footage is not only recorded, but also streamed live to the Centre's monitoring station, as well as the government monitoring centre.

Thus, in case of any kind of incident, there can be swift intervention and clear proof to support any complaints.

"The launch of this initiative was the result of a research study on the extent of customer satisfaction with the service provided by the Centre, and the results of those studies have proven the need for surveillance to ensure the highest standards of quality and safety in service delivery,” stressed Al Qemzi.