Dubai: When you land at the airport in Saudi Arabia and make your way to the taxi stand, you may be approached by individuals offering you a ride. However, Saudi Arabia’s Transport General Authority (TGA) has warned visitors to not take such rides, as these are not legitimate taxi drivers but unlicensed individuals using private vehicles to transport passengers.
For the past year, TGA has been running a campaign to encourage travellers to only use licensed taxi services, ensuring safe and reliable transport to and from the country's airports.
The authority has warned that unlicensed drivers lack several essential services such as real-time trip tracking, do not meet safety or insurance standards, do not accept electronic payments, and have no regulated fare structure. The penalty for transporting passengers without a licence is SAR 5,000 (Dh4,891).
To avoid finding yourself in an unsafe situation or being overcharged, here’s how you can identify licensed taxis when you land in Saudi Arabia.
Licensed transportation and taxi services in Saudi Arabia
When you land at the airport, you can follow signs for Uber or Careem pick up. You can also hail a public taxi from the airport, which would be green in colour. To make sure you are using licensed taxis, here is the list of licensed passenger transportation services in Saudi Arabia, as per TGA:
• Go Now
• Rehlah
• Sara
• Zizoom
• Qafla
• Kaiian
• Zahel
• Careem
• Bayanpay/loop
• Onsim
• Sabaya
• Azooz
• Tofy
• Masaar
• Rakeb
• Drovox
• Caberz
• Sama taxi
• Wsslini
• Jeeny
• Uber
• Bolt
• Dageega
• Driver
• Arrive
• Tamoheen
• Step
• Jay
• Zeem
• Meshni
• Suber
• Fi tariki
• Nawaaem
• Toyou
• Enjoy driving
• Near me
• Darb
• Ebrecar
Can I book a public taxi from the airport?
Apart from Careem or Uber, you can also opt for the ‘Taxi’ app by Takamol Mobility Services Company, which is a unified platform for public taxi services for all regions in Saudi Arabia. The app is an affordable ride-hailing service with a fixed flag fall rate of SAR 20 (Dh19) and does not have peak time surcharges.
Through the app, you can book a regular taxi, which accommodates up to four people, or ‘Taxi Plus’ for families and groups or even a taxi for People of Determination.
The app is available for Apple and Android devices. To download the app, enter ‘Takamol Mobility Services Company’ in the app store, and click on the ‘Taxi’ app. All you need to do is enter your mobile number and create an account to start booking a ride.
If you want to know how you can get a Saudi SIM card when you land at the airport, read our detailed guide here.
