Saudi Arabia launches its first rest facility for delivery drivers

Cairo: Saudi Arabia has unveiled its first rest and waiting area for app delivery drivers, in a step aimed to improve working conditions in one of the kingdom’s fastest-growing sectors.

The facility was licensed in Al Khobar governorate in the kingdom’s Eastern Province in an initiative that is also aimed to promote the urban landscape.

Head of the Building Permits Department at Al Khobar Municipality, Eng. Abdulaziz Al Rumaih, said the idea of the facility came after haphazard parking by delivery drivers had been observed.

The manifestations of haphazardness included motorbikes parked in undesignated areas such as spaces allocated for people with disabilities or on sidewalks, or drivers sitting in the streets under the sun and in rain.

“This prompted the municipality to develop an organised model that serves this vital sector,” Al Rumaih added.

The kingdom’s first fully integrated rest area for delivery drivers was designed in a way heeding aesthetic and architectural aspects, and providing a comfortable environment including air conditioning, seating, lighting, and direct technical connectivity to restaurants and shops, according to him.

“The building is considered an exemplary model that will be applied to shopping malls and major centres according to specific controls and standards,” the official said.

He expected that up to 100 similar licences will be issued in the coming period to help regulate the operation of the thriving delivery sector.

Order delivery service providers in Saudi Arabia achieved a milestone last year with more than 290 million orders, according to Saudi transport authorities.

Riyadh got the lion’s share of the overall order deliveries with a record growth of 45.3%, the Transport General Authority (TGA) said.

The Mecca region came second registering a 22.7% growth in delivery activity, followed by the Eastern Province with a growth of 15%, while Medina in western Saudi Arabia recorded a 4.3% growth.

More than 200 million delivery operations were performed in the kingdom in 2023, according to official figures.