- MADINAH: More than 50 Saudi drivers of private buses gathered in front of the Madinah governor's office last week to protest rules that prevent them from entering the city's central zone around the Prophet’s Mosque.
The drivers claim that foreign bus drivers are being allowed to enter the crowded zone, according to a report in Al-Madinah newspaper.
A source at the Madinah Traffic Department denied there was any discrimination in this regard, saying that the move not to allow buses to enter the area is in line with a directive from the Madinah governor.
The source claimed that a number of foreign drivers were taken into custody for violating the new regulation.
“We secured written pledges from some of these drivers not to repeat the violation,” the source said, adding that in case they were caught repeating the violation they would face deportation.
Speaking to Al-Madinah, a number of citizens, including Muhammad Al-Fareedi, Salem Al-Saidi and Adel Al-Jabiri, said that Saudi owners of private buses face difficulties while picking up passengers at the Kilo 9 Center in Madinah.
A group of Saudi drivers, such as Faisal Al-Radadi, Hani Al-Jabiri and Saud Al-Luqmani, said that the traffic police prevented them from entering the Haram to drop and pick up passengers while they allowed foreign drivers to do the same.
A number of Saudi drivers had to pay fines amounting to SR500 for each violation. They urged the concerned authorities to look into this serious problem and redress their grievances as soon as possible.
