Members of the Car Rental Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) are worried about the 15 percent increase in the price of imported cars and other rising business costs. These were some of the issues raised by committee members at a meeting with Dr. Mefrij Bin Saad Al-Haqbani, Deputy Minister of Labor, at his office in Riyadh on Wednesday, according to Saeed Bin Ali Al-Basami, Head of the Rental Cars Committee at the JCCI. Al-Basami said that the deputy minister did, however, offer assurances that under the Nitaqat Program, visas will be issued to car rental firms for the workers needed, including drivers, mechanics, cleaners and electricians. Al-Basami said committee members also raised other issues, including the differences in the charges of various car impound centers in Jeddah, rising comprehensive insurance costs and the spike in the prices of spare parts. He said that despite these factors, car rental charges in the Kingdom were still the cheapest in the Gulf region. He said this issue was raised with the Ministry of Transport at a recent meeting. He said the members also discussed “Tamm”, the Saher website which serves the transportation and rental car companies, by registering the data of vehicles at the National Data Center. The website is necessary for violations to be recorded in the name of a vehicle owner or driver.
