A company is to be set up in Saudi Arabia to increase jobs for Saudi nationals in the taxi hire sector, it has been reported.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Development plans to set up the company, called ‘Khidma’, to create more than 22,000 jobs to young Saudis over five years.
The ministry also plans to introduce a minimum salary of SR5,000 ($1,333) for Saudis working in the sector, according to a report in Arab News.
After being established, Khidma will work with other government and private sector agencies to improve the quality of service provision and safety standards in the taxi transport sector.
The company will also seek to establish a suitable work environment for Saudis, regulate prices and set appropriate working hours for Saudi drivers.
It is hoped the plan will help overturn negative social attitudes among Saudis about jobs as taxi drivers, the newspaper said.
It is the latest initiative in government efforts to ‘Saudise’ various industry sectors. It recently implemented regulations to nationalise jobs in the mobile phone retail and maintenance sector.
Meanwhile, the regulation of taxi companies is to be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Public Transportation Authority, rather than the Ministry of Transportation, sources told Arab News.
The transport ministry has already issued licenses to 11 taxi companies to operate in the kingdom, and is considering applications from several others.
It was also reported on Wednesday that Saudi citizens would be able to use their private cars to transport people, via a new app currently in development.
It is unclear at present how the payment process or formal employment procedures would work.
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