Nidal Al-Assaf, the official in charge of smart applications at the Land Transport Regulatory Authority, said that the mandatory subscription to social security for smart application drivers is "currently under study".
Al-Assaf told "Al-Mamlaka" that there are about 13,000 drivers of smart application vehicles.
He added that there are about 30 unlicensed companies and applications currently operating, while only 4 companies are licensed.
Regarding the new regulations for passenger transport through smart applications, Al-Assaf said that pricing would be based on competition among the companies, which will positively reflect on users with better prices.
Al-Assaf confirmed that the authority would intensify its surveillance of unlicensed applications following the issuance of the new guidelines.
The authority had issued, on Monday, new guidelines for the regulation of passenger transport using smart applications for the year 2025, aimed at controlling the operation of service providers, drivers, and vehicles, and ensuring their compliance with regulatory and technical requirements.
The instructions, published in the official gazette, set the general framework for the operation of companies running smart applications and granted the authority the power to oversee, follow up, and prevent any non-compliant practices.
On his part, Lawrence Al-Rifai, chairman of the Volunteer Committee for App Captains, welcomed the new instructions, describing them as "fair to smart application drivers," noting that the drivers can move between licensed companies using the permits they possess.
Al-Rifai emphasized the importance of setting a minimum pricing limit to prevent manipulation, thereby enhancing competition.
At the same time, Al-Rifai called for some amendments to certain clauses of the instructions, such as lowering the pricing for adding a second driver to the same vehicle, and he requested that electric vehicles have a motor capacity of 100 kilowatts, and hybrid and gasoline vehicles a motor capacity of 1500, expressing hope that this standard would be reviewed to be more in line with the practical reality of drivers.
