المملكة: Preventing smoking and assistance for people with disabilities … new requirements for organizing taxi transport activities

The General Transport Authority has launched the draft new executive regulations for organizing transportation activities in the taxi and mediation in passenger transport, through the “poll” platform.
This is with the aim of developing taxi services, stimulating investment, and achieving safety and security standards, in order to enhance economic and social development in the Kingdom.

License, conditions and renewal

The regulations stipulated that the license to practice taxi activities for a period of three years is renewable, and the license is limited to the city in question, and that is excluded from the license linked to public taxi contracts, and it is not permissible to practice the activity after the end, cancellation or suspension of the license.
The regulations confirmed that the basic licensing conditions include providing a specific number of cars, the availability of technical and financial requirements, and the provision of a valid Saudization certificate, in addition to the commitment to pay the financial compensation and fines “if they are found”, and in the event of disturbing these conditions, the specific penalties in the approved violations schedule are applied.

She referred to the renewal at the request of the service provider within 180 days before the license ends, while allowing the application to be submitted within 90 days from the date of completion, otherwise the license is considered canceled.

Controls of waiver and license transfer

The regulations prohibited the abdication of the license until after the approval of the commission, and the fulfillment of the prescribed conditions, most notably that the license be valid, and the payment of fines and the financial compensation from both sides, in addition to preventing the transfer of the license from one city to another except with the prior approval of the commission.
The regulations specified the cases of cancellation of the license automatically, including the end of the contract with the authority, the removal of the activity from the commercial registry, the liquidation of the facility or the death of the owner of the individual institution without correcting the situation within 90 days.

License of mediation activity

The regulation set precise conditions for obtaining a license to practice mediation in transporting passengers in taxis, most notably the existence of a valid commercial record that includes activity, zakat and insurance certificates, and an appropriate headquarters according to municipal requirements, provided that the license is issued for a period of three years, and it is not permissible to practice it after its completion or during its suspension.
It required obtaining a sub -license for each branch practicing the activity, and imposed strict conditions on the waiver or transfer of the license, and confirmed that the license is automatically canceled in cases such as removing the activity or the death of the owner without correcting the situation.

Organizing the work of drivers

The regulations organized the conditions for drivers’ work, including the driver obtaining a valid public taxi license, a professional competence certificate from the authority, the driver newspaper is free of precedents, and a contract relationship with the service provider.
And it stipulated that the non -Saudi be linked to the identity of the service provider, and that his profession be a “taxi driver”, and the driver’s card is issued for a year, with the possibility of issuing a capable card for 30 days in the event that some conditions are not met.
The executive regulations of the taxi transport activities issued by the General Authority for Transport included a set of detailed obligations that drivers must adhere to during the activity, as it obligated the service provider to emphasize his drivers with the necessity of commitment to not combine more than one different request in one trip, except in cases of transportation between cities or outside the Kingdom, while providing the authority to determine additional cases.
It was required to highlight the documents when requested by the inspectors, adherence to the approved dress, and prevent smoking inside the vehicle, whether from the driver or passengers, with the commitment to maintain the missions and hand them over to the security authorities within three days.
She stressed the prevention of luggage that exceeds the capacity of the vehicle or without the presence of a passenger, and ensuring that safety means are available before the start of the trip, loading passengers from the designated sidewalk, and providing assistance to people with disabilities.
The regulation stressed the necessity of good appearance, commitment to public morals, operating the taxi meter with the beginning of the trip, and allowing the transfer of pets within specific health conditions, explaining that the service provider bears full responsibility when the driver violates any of these obligations.

Cars and their equipment

The regulations required that taxis be new and they were not previously registered in the Kingdom, and that their operating age does not exceed five years, and that the car be owned by the service provider directly or through a financing leasing, with an operating card issued for a year.
The requirements include a contract with the commission, insurance against responsibility, a valid periodic examination, an external identity in a specific color, identification stickers, in addition to paying fees and fines, and the operating card is canceled in cases such as transferring ownership, canceling the license, or the end of operational life, and the authority may request a periodic technical examination of the car when accidents affect safety.

Operating range and operational controls

The regulations separated the operational ranges according to the type of fare, which includes the general fare and is within the city in the license, and outside it in one direction, the private fare inside and outside the city, and from the airport after obtaining approval, and the airport fare: from the airport to cities only, without the possibility of returning.
It stipulated that the driver may not refrain from providing the service except in cases such as exceeding the number of passengers, inappropriate behavior from the passenger, or the use of contraband, and that the driver must adhere to the approved dress, not smoking, delivery of missions, maintain the cleanliness of the car, and operate the taxi meter. The facility bears the responsibility of any breach from the driver.

Optimum obligations and electronic applications

The regulation imposed strict obligations on brokerage companies, including linking all licenses to the electronic symbol, updating the communication data, enabling the inspector to view the records, and not to misuse passenger data.
With regard to mediation through electronic applications, the regulation obligated the service provider to link the application with the platform of the authority, show the trip data, enable the passenger and the driver to evaluate, and not to obtain the fare in the event of the disruption of the trip, and an emergency icon must be provided in the application, the availability of the feature of sharing the trip data, and the failure to operate the driver ending his license or ending his card.

Violations and penalties

The regulation confirmed the application of the penalties to any violation of the provisions of the regulations according to an approved schedule from the head of the commission, and informing the violator of the decision through the authority’s platform, email or text messages, and the notification is in effect even if it fails due to the lack of update of the data.
She added: The grievance is entitled to the sanctions decisions within 30 days of reporting, and the grievances are considered before a specialized committee, with grievances available before the court within 60 days of the decision, stressing that the authority may not take measures to limit the services provided to the violator during the grievance period.