Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — A Saudi lawyer has said three young women had approached him asking to take up their case against the driver of a ride-hailing service who allegedly harassed them by contacting them by phone and following them on social media accounts. Bandar Al-Amoudi said he has taken up the case against the driver who he said has apparently committed sexual harassment, the punishment for which will be decided by a judge. The punishment could be anything from signing a pledge not to commit the offense again to whiplashes and imprisonment based on the discretion of the judge, said Al-Amoudi. He said drivers of ride-hailing services are entrusted with the task of dropping a client from one predetermined point to another and they are not supposed to talk to their passengers. "Some drivers break the rules and they talk about sensitive topics or they might ask the women passengers to go out with them. Others offered free rides if the women agreed to stay in touch," said the lawyer. Meanwhile, a young woman posted on Twitter photos of injuries she sustained while jumping from a car after its driver harassed her. She wrote, "I demand my right." A Twitter account has been created for users of ride-hailing services to speak about their experiences and raise complaints. Women who shared experiences through the account noted that they get annoyed when drivers initiate conversations. One young woman said once she got into a cab and the driver told her that young women should not go out alone. He then contacted her on WhatsApp and also on phone, creating problems for her in the family. Another woman said a driver who dropped her contacted her later saying he wanted to propose to her. A third woman said she received a text message from a driver who offered her massage service for SR70 an hour. Careem, one of the ride-sharing companies operating in Saudi Arabia, said when they started the service they were advised not to hire Saudis as drivers because society will not accept them. "But we were surprised at the acceptance level for Saudi drivers. There are 40,000 drivers in the Kingdom registered with Careem and 75 percent of them are Saudis," the company said in a statement. The Saudi drivers are highly rated, it added. If a complaint was lodged against any driver, they would stop his service immediately because "the security and safety of the passenger is a priority," the statement said. About the procedures followed in such instances, the company said, it carried out internal investigations and also cooperated with the security authorities by providing any information deemed necessary to protect the rights of customers. Careem also noted that they welcomed both Saudis and expatriates as drivers in line with the prevailing regulations. Non-Saudis can work using cars belonging to taxi companies but not their private cars. President of the General Authority for Transport Rumaih Al-Rumaih said an expatriate who had been using his private car for a ride-sharing service in Jeddah was fined SR5,000 recently. He also faced deportation from the country.
