RIYADH — More than 80 female taxi drivers will be hired soon in the four main airports in Saudi Arabia. They are King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, and Prince Muhammad International Airport in Madinah. This is part of the first phase of an initiative, launched on Sunday by Saudi Arabia's Transport General Authority (TGA), in cooperation with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD), represented by the Tawteen Program-2, to empower women in the fields of transport, Al-Watan newspaper reported. Under this phase titled 'Woman's Track,' three agreements will be signed with major companies, which are licensed to operate airport taxis, to employ more than 80 female drivers, starting from four airports. As part of the second phase of the initiative, women taxi drivers will be employed in all other airports in the Kingdom. The initiative includes cooperation with a specialized driving center to prepare and develop a comprehensive training program for acquiring basic skills in driving cabs, in addition to soft skills such as decorum, customer service, first aid, and the English language. This also includes providing support through the Tawteen Program-2 to empower national cadres and to support the development of the transport and logistics services sector as well as to improve the experience of beneficiaries, including visitors and travelers. The TGA emphasized that the initiative will contribute to improving and developing the experience of transport services and receiving passengers so as to ensure business continuity. This will be in line with the authority's keenness to support job creation, increase local content, and activate the role of women in Saudization programs in the transport sector and the companies operating in it in a way promoting the gross domestic product (GDP). It is noteworthy that the authority and the MRHSD aim to localize jobs in the transport and logistics sector and this initiative is one of the nationalization initiatives that support the empowerment of women in several fields. This contributes to achieving the goals of the National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services and achieving the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030.
