Dubai: The Saudi General Directorate of Traffic announced that women will now be allowed to drive taxis and become taxi drivers. This comes nearly four years after the historic decision to allow women to drive.
According to a statement issued by cthe Saudi Traffic Department, women can apply for a general taxi licence at any of the 18 driving schools in cities across the Kingdom, including Riyadh, Jeddah, Jazan, Asir, Najran, Jouf, Hail and Taif.
The cost for applying for the licence will be SR 200 ($53).
On September 27, 2017, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia announced that he would allow women to drive in the country. The permit came into effect on June 24, 2019. Driving licenses are issued to persons of 18 years of age and above.
Since the right to drive was granted in 2017, a number of careers in transportation have opened up to Saudi women, including driving trains, planes, and even racing cars. This ruling also allowed women to work as drivers for ride-hailing apps like Uber and Careem.
