COVID-19: Kuwait scraps one-passenger rule for taxis
Taxi owners had staged a protest outside the Interior Ministry decrying the restriction
Cairo: Kuwaiti authorities have scrapped a controversial restriction banning taxis from carrying more than one passenger per journey after a protest, Al Rai newspaper reported Thursday.
On Sunday, owners of taxi companies staged a sit-in outside the Interior Ministry, protesting the ban, saying it is impractical and causes them financial losses.
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Starting from today, taxis are allowed to serve three passengers at one time, Al Rai said, citing a protest organizer.
The one-passenger restriction was cancelled after a delegation representing taxi owners had met the Interior Ministry’s Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs, Maj. Gen. Jamal Al Sayagh.
“During the meeting, we explained suffering of the owners of the taxi companies, and requested cancellation of the one-rider decision and extending the operation of the 2013 model taxis for an extra year,” said Abdul Aziz Al Mutairi, an owner of a taxi firm and the protest organizer.
The traffic official agreed to allow taxis to serve the number of passengers mentioned in the car licence, i.e. three passengers, Al Mutairi told the paper. The 2013 model taxis are also allowed to operate for one more year.
“The decision takes effect as of Thursday,” Al Mutairi added.
He said that Maj. Gen. Al Sayagh also pledged to ease woes of small-time taxi operators and help curb their losses by directing traffic patrols to book private cars that illegally transport passengers.