JEDDAH, 23 July 2006 — Taxi-related crime is on the rise, say authorities. Common thugs view taxi drivers as prime targets for an easy theft. The Jeddah police reported recently that about half of all vehicles stolen in the city are now taxis or other livery vehicles.
“Most of the crimes happen in south Jeddah and late at night,” said Muhammad Al-Hussein, the owner of Al-Hussein limousine car company. “Most of the time the crimes seem to be committed by overstayers and sometimes Saudis, who show weapons to drivers and steal their car or money.”
Al-Hussein said a man who appeared to be a Saudi recently robbed his company’s Indian driver. He entered the taxi brandishing a knife and ordered the driver to a remote location where he was assaulted and robbed of money. The cab was later found abandoned on the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway.
A recent report in Al-Madinah Arabic daily said an unemployed Saudi man was arrested for stealing a taxi; he said he was going to use the car to earn a living. Two African nationals were also reportedly arrested recently for killing a driver in an armed robbery. The men were charged with murder and other violent crimes. In another incident, a man stole an unmarked taxi and sold it at a local car auction with faked car papers.
Ghulam Khan, a Pakistani limousine driver, said that he was warned about the dangers of the job when he first came to Saudi Arabia.
“I personally avoid picking up African passengers at night,” he said, quickly denying being a racist. He admits to profiling his passengers because he feels an African is more likely to be somebody who might rob him than others. “We read so much about African overstayers committing crimes,” he added.
Khan says a cab driver must follow a couple of rules.
“A driver must avoid going to certain places and dark alleys at night, especially areas in south Jeddah,” he said. “A limousine driver should develop an eye in which he could distinguish between good and bad customers because sometimes it is a matter of life and death.”
Taxi-related crime is a common symptom of urban landscapes, especially in larger cities in developing regions of the world. For example, the US Embassy in Mexico City has a standing travel warning about hailing taxis from the street due to the prevalence of drivers themselves being crooks. Mexican taxi unions also complain that they are the targets of armed robbery and have asked city officials there to crack down on so-called “gypsy cabs” driven by criminals that have stolen marked cabs or use unlicensed vehicles painted to resemble official taxis.
