Several young Saudi men, including students who have taken up part-time jobs as taxi drivers in Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah, have seized the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone: Operate an underground taxi service to help pilgrims reach the holy sites and to make a quick buck in the process.

The only problem is that it’s illegal and they know it.

Arab News met with four drivers at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz Airport where they were offering pilgrims rides to Makkah for SR200 each.

“I am a student at a Makkah university and I resort to this practice during holidays,” said gypsy taxi driver Mohammed Saleh. “I am a part-time driver during vacations, Eids and weekends. This way, I make some money and I also get to help people reach their destination. I drive my family’s GMC, which can accommodate seven people along with their luggage. My car is bigger than any taxi, which is why many choose me because they prefer to travel in groups.”

The part-time drivers are aware that it’s illegal to drive other people for money.

But according to Abdullah Kareem, no one is watching. “I was fired from my job as a security man in a mall in Madinah and I couldn’t find anything else to do with my limited skills. But, one day a couple of men asked me to drive them home from the supermarket for SR50,” he said. And thus was born his new profession.

“I like the idea and started doing it over and over making more money than what I used to earn when I was in my previous job,” he added.

In the case of Omar Jameel, it was all about Islamic tourism that attracted him to this part-time profession.

Well acquainted with the sites that pilgrims must visit, he said: “Driving around tourists and pilgrims is my passion. I love talking to people about my country and my religion and after hearing about Islamic tourism, I decided to charge SR200 per person in every city.”

He added: “I also show them the best places where they can find the best of Saudi cuisine and other locations that makes our country special. People call me a travel agent behind the wheel.”

Not enough income is what made schoolteacher Adel Al-Shareef take up a part-time job as a taxi driver using his Jeep. “I work as an English teacher in a government school which does not allow me to get into another job with a contract. So I decided to find something else to earn some more money,” he said.

He noted that “Haj and Ramadan are peak seasons for me because I drive back and forth from Jeddah airport to Makkah and I make a lot of money. It’s tailor-made for me because school is off and one job doesn’t interfere with the other.”