How about increasing the drivers' pay by 50%? I feel stupid having paid thousands of dollars on a flight, to spend 45 minutes with a driver struggling to make ends meet. Personal generosity (tipping) can never beat the feeling of a good solid salary. The drivers will focus more on their driving, and hence enhance the safety of the road trip than on talking about their misery, hoping for a healthy tip from an empathic passenger.

On a different note, in my last couple encounters, the drivers struggled to find the route to my destinations (hotels about Dubai). Specifically Somerset Jadaf is a mere 15 minute dash at midnight from the premium terminal. It took the driver 40 minutes, because he had circled in vain, stopped twice to ask for directions before we made it to our destination.