RIYADH, 16 October — Taxis made more than five years ago will be banned from mid-November, according to a top official at the Ministry of Communications.
The ministry will not renew the licenses for taxis made before 1996 from Nov. 16, said Abdul Aziz Al-Auhali, undersecretary for transportation at the ministry.
However, such cars owned and run by private individuals for personal use will not be effected by this order, he added.
The move aims to guarantee the "safety of citizens and expats who depend on public transport," Al-Auhali said.
Taxi-operators are aware of the ministry’s decision, which will be implemented in line with the bylaws relating to taxis.
The taxi companies themselves plan to appeal to Communications Minister Dr. Nasser Al-Salloum, outlining the problems they will face if the new regulations are implemented.
The regulation will jeopardize their investments in the industry, the taxi operators argue.
They generally buy new cars on installments, ranging from three to four years and after the installments are completed, they argue, they will not have sufficient time to make any profit out of the cars.
But Al-Auhali said earlier that the ministry had granted the taxi companies a grace period of three years to take account of the new regulations.
There are 260 taxi companies with an average of 150 cars each in Riyadh alone. It is argued by these companies that they will have to replace more than 25,000 cars because of the new law.
However, Al-Auhali rejected this figure, saying the total number of cars with a taxi license in the capital is no more than 25,000.
