PM urges activating law to regulate UBER, Careem services

CAIRO – 22 November 2017: Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail urged activating the law to regulate the services of ride-hailing applications such as UBER and Careem, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr said on Wednesday.

Nasr said during a joint press conference at the Cabinet headquarters that this law, which regulates the transport of passengers via private cars such as UBER and Careem, will provide many job opportunities for Egyptian youth.

According to this law, the Ministry of Transportation will be responsible for organizing this service in Egypt.

She added that this law encourages new companies of this category to enter the Egyptian market to pump more investment.

Earlier, Minister of Transport Hesham Arafat announced that the Cabinet has approved a draft law regulating the transport of passengers via private cars through the use of information technology, namely cellphone applications.

Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Wali said there are six companies working in this field, including Uber and Careem. There will be a fee for private cars operating through this system of cellphone applications, she added.

This law will register taxi drivers using this system in order to protect them and their activities, and it will also protect citizens and employees in the taxi system.

In 2016, Uber said that 30,000 drivers are using the service in Cairo as a source of income, making the Egyptian capital the fastest growing market in the region for the car-hailing application since its launch in late 2014.