Taxi services in the country’s major cities are beginning to deteriorate as limousine companies decide to cease operations in moves that could signal the end of the service. Taxi companies say very few Saudi drivers are available in comparison to the large numbers of expatriates who are the dominant group among drivers.
With the recent decision calling for the Saudization of taxi services, company owners are scrambling to find Saudi drivers. Both operators and drivers are confused as they race to meet the deadline by which all foreigners must be replaced by Saudis. Drivers, mostly from Asian countries, have been forced to work overtime in order to pay the agents in their home countries who got them the work visas. Sensing an imminent collapse, private car owners have raced to fill the gap and win a slice of the cake, offering their services to whomever risks riding with them. Again, the majority of these are non-Saudis.
Had there been a proper system organizing the service, we would not have found ourselves in a situation with the entire service threatened. The financial losses which are forcing many taxi companies to stop work could have been avoided. Some urgent action is needed. Taxi companies should not be allowed to cease operations; if they do cease, they should be closed and the old system that was in operation before the creation of the present taxi companies reinstated. The taxi service is already chaotic enough and we don’t need to add even more confusion to our streets.
The transition preceding the Saudization of the service is already showing signs of confusion. A recent newspaper report told of a Saudi taxi driver who was victimized by two Saudi women. Once in the taxi, one of the women saw that the driver had a SR500 bill and she made her plan. When they reached their destination, the driver asked for the fare and the woman told him she had already given him SR500 and that he must give her the change. The stunned driver tried to explain that the SR500 was his; the women thereupon began to scream and draw the attention of passersby who were of course assembling. To avoid more embarrassment, the driver gave in and paid the women from his own pocket. Who, I wonder, needs protecting here? The veiled women or the taxi driver? And what can be done?
