AMMAN — Ridesharing app drivers working for companies like
Careem and Uber accused
the government of failing to heed their calls, primarily extending the
operating life of their vehicles from seven to 10 years.
اضافة اعلان
Other demands by the rideshare taxi drivers,
commonly known as captains, include cutting the annual registration fee by half
from JD400 to JD200, and allowing people over 60 years old to operate ridesharing
cabs, using the app.
A government decision to extend the operational age
of ridesharing app cars from five to seven years went into effect last week.
Now, the drivers want the car age extended further
to 10 years, and have voiced their demand in meetings in recent weeks with the
Land Transport Regulatory Commission (LTRC)
Lawrence Al-Rifai, a spokesperson for the
Applications’ Drivers Union, said that “ill-advised government decisions have
clearly affected the drivers”.
“The number of smart application vehicles has
significantly decreased,” he told
Jordan News, citing discussions with
the government.
“The number of ridesharing app vehicles today is
around 6,200, less than half the 13,000 vehicles which were operating in 2018,”
he noted.
Rifai said that some drivers felt they were cornered
by the government’s decision. As a result, they were forced to “sell their
vehicles, in view of their accumulated debts and other financial burdens,
especially those inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic” when business activity
came to a complete standstill.
“How can the government expect us to buy new
vehicles every seven years, when we did not yet pay the loans and dues on the
cars which are currently in service?” he exclaimed.
“Raising the operational life of vehicles to 10
years is a necessary requirement, which we will not abandon,” he noted.
Additionally, he said that the operational costs
imposed on drivers in Jordan “are among the highest in the world.”
“The costs, such as maintenance, gasoline,
insurance, and registration are very high and constitute a burden on the
drivers,” he said. “We pay two licenses every year, one of them goes to LTRC”,
while the other is for the traffic department.
Rifai levelled accusations against LTRC, claiming it
abandoned its responsibility towards rideshare app drivers, leaving them
unprotected.
“All these conditions combined indicate that the
sector is on the verge of a major collapse, especially since the majority of
drivers have bank loans to pay off,” he said.
Captain Majdi Al-Saafin told
Jordan News that
the “financial situation of drivers has taken a sharp turn to the worse”.
“With insufficient liquidity in the hands of
citizens, and the constant rise in gasoline prices, the situation has really
become exhausting,” he said.
“If the situation remains as it is now, 10 years may
not be enough for us to pay our financial due,” he explained.
“Increasing the operational life will not harm the
government, and by the same token, will positively reflect on the drivers who
still incur losses and are in dire financial condition,” he added.
He said some
drivers who were forced to sell their vehicles joined the ranks of the
unemployed. “They are left out in the cold and unable to provide for their
children, and this will only exacerbate the pockets of poverty in the country,”
he pointed out.
Asked about the drivers’ demands, LTRC spokesperson
Abla Al-Weshah said that a “recent decision was issued by the government to
raise the operational life to seven years only.”
Weshah declined to disclose more information on the
matter, and only asserted that the decision was “recently issued and raised the
years only, seven”.
Other demands made by the drivers included allowing
them to renew their permits through LTRC directly, without referring back to
their respective companies. They are also seeking a reduction in the deductible
percentage on their daily income.
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