Saudi Arabia: Motorbike delivery service suspended in Riyadh

Cairo: Saudi transport authorities have temporarily halted delivery app service via motorcycles as of Tuesday in Riyadh to conduct technical updates until further notice.

 The General Transport Authority (GTA) has notified delivery app companies of the suspension to implement scheduled technical updates to the electronic connection system for assigning orders to motorcycle delivery personnel, Saudi newspaper Okaz reported, citing informed sources. 

App customers will not be able to use motorcycle delivery apps until the technical systems are updated, the sources added.

 The move is part of GTA efforts to improve operational efficiency and upgrade service quality.

The service will resume automatically once the technical updates are completed, and the operating companies will be notified once the system is ready, the sources added.

The delivery sector has flourished in Saudi Arabia in recent years.

The order delivery service providers in the kingdom 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%, 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%.

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