Saud Al-Nefaie, chairman of the National Transportation Committee in the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said there are five unauthorized taxi service companies operating from outside the Kingdom. “The five companies use smartphone applications and operate unregulated taxis that employ random workers and self-employed drivers who work from home,” explained the chairman.

He said that among unlicensed taxi service companies are the UAE’s Careem, Brazil’s Easy Taxi and Lebanon’s Master. The companies are run by workers in violation of the Kingdom’s labor laws in return for a specified amount of money and operate from UAE, Brazil and Lebanon.

“The Ministry of Transportation is tracking down these companies that work without permits and authorizations,” said Al-Nefaie.

He added that almost 90 percent of those who deal with these drivers and the services are women who use smartphone apps to access them. “The danger is that the vehicles are not covered by insurance which could cause problems in the event of an accident,” he cautioned.

Furthermore, the service is operated and managed via control rooms located outside the Kingdom which could endanger national security, he said.

Elaborating on the risks posed by the unauthorized taxi services, he said: “Most of the customers are women and children and they are putting themselves at risk as the vehicles are not licensed, have no insurance, and the drivers are not trained. He further warned that some regulated taxi service companies were also working with these illegal companies.

The chairman of the committee said that a Saudi electronic application is set to be launched in the market very soon which will provide similar taxi services. The services will be under the supervision of local universities, he added. “The service will have a unique feature of protecting user privacy by not showing their phone numbers,” he pointed out.