MADINAH, 3 November 2005 — “What is the use of owning a taxi in Madinah if the authorities allow private vehicles to operate freely in the city center and pick customers under the nose of the traffic police?” asked Muhammad Saeed, a taxi driver.

He said that he and other taxi drivers are finding no protection from private pickup truck drivers who pick customers at their will depriving them of their livelihood. They even say that they are facing harassment from the police themselves who refuse to allow them to wait for customers in the central area of the city and at times even block them from entering the area.

It is a long-standing tradition in Madinah that pickup trucks are used to transport passengers. Residents prefer pickup trucks because they are cheaper; they charge as little as SR5 per trip anywhere inside Madinah.

Many times, police have issued orders banning the trucks from picking up passengers. They are observed for a time, gradually ignored and then the problem is back once again.

Many taxi drivers complain that there is no profit working in Madinah. Some have converted their taxis to private cars by repainting and removing the signs.

Muwaffaq Al-Shibani, who used to work as a taxi driver, said that he was forced to quit the job because of the pickup trucks pirating the trade. “We were intentionally driven out of the market and nothing was done to help us. We are taxi drivers and our job is to pick up customers and deliver them to their destination for a fee; this is very clear.”

Al-Shibani said at one time he carried 10 to 16 fares a day but now gets as few as two. “The truck drivers stole them away from us and the police are doing nothing to stop this,” he said. “Generally speaking, people will be attracted to the cheapest price.”

The pirate truck drivers, he said, have other jobs and they will settle for any price to get a customer as it only supplements their income while taxi drivers rely totally on the income generated from this job.

Muhammad Saeed put the blame on police that leave these pirates unchallenged.

“Some truck drivers themselves are police officers and soldiers. They take off their uniform when they are off duty and drive the pickup trucks. That is why they can freely drive anywhere and pick up passengers unchallenged,” he said.

Saeed said some of those people do not have a proper driver licenses and sometimes no car registration. “As for us, we are banned from parking in the central area to pick passengers. Every time I park my car police get on my back nudging me to move,” said Saeed.

He accepts that as part of the job. “That is fine to some extent, but why aren’t they stopping the truck drivers and giving them tickets for picking up passengers? I think police should get their acts together.”

People agree that it is cheaper to ride in a pickup truck because they charge as little as SR5 per trip and sometimes SR3 if the distance is short.

They also agree that they do not see taxi cars in the streets as much as they used to. Little wonder; this behavior hardly encourages a reliable and efficient taxi service.