Appeals in Uber, Careem case to be examined Saturday

CAIRO - 21 Aug 2018: The Higher Administrative Court examines on Saturday appeals filed by Uber and Careem against a previous ruling to halt both firms' ride-hailing services in Egypt.

In March, a Cairo court ordered halting the activities of Uber and Careem companies and referring the case to the State Commissioners Authority to give a legal opinion after a number of taxi drivers had pressed charges against the two ride-hailing companies.

The plaintiffs said the two companies use privately-owned vehicles for commercial purposes in violation of the Egyptian law.

In February 2017, 42 taxi drivers filed a case against UAE-based Careem and U.S.-based Uber, as well as the Egyptian government, accusing the two companies of violating Egyptian traffic laws, specifically a law that bans the used of private-owned vehicles for commercial purposes. The taxis also claimed that the two firms were registered as a call center and an internet company, respectively, suggesting that they are not legally regulated as ride-hailing services.

In response to these accusations, the Cairo Administrative Court has accepted the case and ordered the suspension of the two companies’ licenses in Egypt. The two companies have appealed the court’s verdict, meaning that Egypt's Higher Administrative Court will look at the case.

Lolwa Awad and MENA contributed to this report