Taxi firms fear losing revenue if women drive

October 26, 2013

Jeddah, Oct 26: Taxi operators here say they would lose 60 percent of their revenue and may even have to close shop if women are allowed to drive in the city.

Saudi women have been pushing for the right to drive and many plan to get behind the wheel today to highlight their cause.

Ali Sayed, an Egyptian taxi supervisor in Jeddah, told Arab News that his firm would likely lose 60 percent of its customers.

“It is well known that many more women than men use our taxis. We depend on the revenue from women customers. Many taxi firms will close down if women are allowed to drive their own cars,” said Sayed.

Many taxi drivers have contracts with women to pick them up at home and drop them off at work or university. They make more than SR1,000 at the end of the month from these contracts.

Mukhtar Salem, a Yemeni taxi driver, told Arab News: “I have a contract to drop off two Saudi women every day at King Abdul Aziz University for SR1,500 a month. If they drive their own cars, I will lose this money.”

Mahmoud Abdul Shafi, an Egyptian taxi driver, told Arab News that taxi drivers would face a “real crisis” if women are allowed to drive. “We cannot depend on men customers who have no cars. It's easy for them to find friends to drop them off or to take a bus.”

“Other men use taxis on a temporary basis until they can buy their own cars. We have long term contracts with women because they have no other option and are dependent on us,” said Shafi.

Activists behind the “Oct. 26 Driving Campaign” have called on fellow Saudis to put the campaign's logo on their cars and urged women to learn to drive.

However, a spokesman from the Ministry of Interior said in a statement on Wednesday that “regulations in Saudi Arabia prohibit any action that disturbs social peace and opens the door for sedition and responds to the illusions of prejudiced intruders with sick dreams.”

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Syrian Town erupts after Israeli forces enter Beit Jinn; heavy casualties reported

News Network

November 28,2025

Several Syrians were killed and more than two dozen others injured in Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Damascus, amid intensified incursions by the occupying regime since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad and the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rule.

Syrian state TV reported that the casualties occurred during an overnight Israeli assault involving helicopters and drones on the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside. The attack followed an Israeli military unit’s entry into the town, where they were surrounded by local residents, leading to gunfire and direct confrontations.

According to the report, “The occupation army’s helicopters and artillery shelled Beit Jinn, located at the foothills of Mount Hermon, resulting in 13 martyrs and 25 injured civilians.” The broadcaster did not specify the full extent of damage.

Al-Ikhbariyah Syria confirmed that the shelling coincided with Israeli soldiers entering Beit Jinn, while artillery pounded surrounding areas. The broadcaster stated that the escalation began after local residents clashed with an Israeli patrol that had infiltrated the southern town and “kidnapped” three young men.

Following a two-hour exchange of heavy fire, Israeli forces withdrew and repositioned on the hill of Butt al-Warda at the town’s outskirts.

Israeli media acknowledged that six soldiers were wounded in the clashes—three of them seriously—describing the confrontation as a “sudden ambush” that forced the deployment of reserve units and air support to secure an exit route. No further details were provided.

The aggression has fueled renewed displacement from Beit Jinn, with residents fleeing to nearby villages amid increasingly frequent Israeli attacks.

The raid came just a day after Israeli troops carried out another ground incursion into Umm al-Luqas village in Quneitra province. According to SANA, an Israeli unit in four vehicles entered the village, raided several homes, and later withdrew.

Syria condemned the repeated incursions as violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and UN resolutions, urging the international community to enforce compliance and pressure Israel to halt its operations and withdraw fully.

Israel has expanded its attacks across Syrian territory following the collapse of the Assad government last year. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly instructed his forces to push deeper into Syrian territory and seize strategic positions.

Meanwhile, critics say the HTS-led interim government’s inaction and growing normalization gestures toward Israel have emboldened Tel Aviv to intensify its military operations. HTS, formerly linked to al-Qaeda, seized control of Damascus last December, formally ending Assad’s rule.

Comments