Saudi: Passenger insurance a must for taxis

November 9, 2014

taxis insuranceJeddah, Nov 9: The Ministry of Transport has decided to implement new regulations for taxis, whether owned by individuals or firms, starting from mid-February.

The new regulations involve extensive amendments, mainly insurance coverage to include third parties, the passengers and drivers through an insurance company licensed to operate in the Kingdom.

Also, vehicles must be equipped with GPS and automated tracking, and guiding systems linked with the headquarters of the facility in accordance with the terms and conditions issued by the ministry.

About one percent of the total number of cars operating under the facility’s management should be equipped with means to commute passengers using wheelchairs.Individuals may operate in this field of business after acquiring the necessary permits and in accordance with the conditions laid down in this regard.

The conditions stipulate that the vehicle must be owned and registered by the driver himself; however, exempted are cars funded and owned under the program of installments of firms offering taxi loans.

The driver must have a first-category driving license, and he should drive the vehicle himself.

The automobile liability insurance policy must cover third parties and passengers through an insurance company licensed to operate in the Kingdom.

The regulations allow firms and individuals to commute passengers from the city that issues the vehicle’s license to another city. Transporting the passengers must be done through taxi offices authorized to operate between cities, and the driver of the vehicle, on reaching the city of destination, should not operate his taxi in that city.

Such firms and individuals operating in the transport sector may transport passengers from airports, seaports, railways and public places. They should comply with the regulations and directions of the bodies of jurisdiction in this regard, including their required fee payments.

The regulations envisage that the driver must have first category driving license, should be able to read and write, in particular read road signs and maps.

The driver must produce a medical report stating he is free of infectious diseases.

Any facility operating a number of taxis must make its drivers follow a dress code (uniforms) after the approval of the ministry.

They should see to it that all drivers comply with the regulations; it becomes obligatory for them to fasten seatbelts for drivers and passengers in accordance with traffic regulations. The drivers must abstain from seeking clients, either by calling them or blowing the horn, or in any other manner that causes nuisance.

Drivers must also refrain from loading luggage other than hand baggage inside the car’s boot or passengers’ compartment. They should help passengers with special needs and elders to board the vehicle and alight from it.

Smoking is banned inside vehicles for both drivers and passengers; also drivers should not switch on their audiovisual equipment if disliked by the passengers.

The regulation also bans drivers from going about the streets in search of passengers. Passenger belongings left behind in the vehicles should be handed over by the drivers to their company executives who, in turn, should hand them to the nearest police station with a report stating the description of the items.

The life span of the vehicle in use should not be older than six years since its manufacture. The firm or individual operating the vehicle must install two identification boards — the first one should be installed in a place visible to the passenger in front and the other behind the driver’s seat for the passengers seated behind, in accordance with the directions and specifications adopted by the ministry.

The data displayed in the vehicle should include the authorized number to operate the vehicle, the number of the vehicle’s registration plate, the name of the individual or company owning the vehicle, the contact phone number, the name of the driver and their commitment to work under the regulations.

Also, details of social insurance and the directions of the Ministry of Labor related to employment of Saudi nationals and adherence to the Saudization ratio should also form part of the data on display.

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News Network
April 13,2020

Dubai, Apr 13: The UAE plans to impose "strict restrictions" on countries reluctant to take back their nationals working in the Gulf country in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and restructure its cooperation and labour relations with them, a state-run media report said on Sunday.

Indian expatriate community of nearly 33 lakh is the largest ethnic community in UAE constituting roughly about 30 per cent of the country’s population. Among the Indian states, Kerala is the most represented followed by Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

The options being considered by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation include "imposing strict future restrictions on the recruitment" of workers from these countries and activating the "quota" system in recruitment operations, state-run WAM news agency reported, citing an official.

It said the options also include suspending memoranda of understanding signed between the ministry and concerned authorities in these countries.

Citing the unnamed official, it said these options are being considered after many countries did not respond to requests by their nationals to return home following the coronavirus outbreak.

The official made it clear that all countries of foreign workers in the UAE should be responsible for their nationals wishing to return to their countries as part of the humanitarian initiative launched recently by the ministry.

Earlier this month, the ministry launched the initiative to enable residents who work in the UAE and wish to return to their countries to do so during the period of precautionary measures undertaken in the UAE to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Employees will be asked to submit their annual leave dates or agree with their employers on unpaid leave.

UAE's Ambassador to India Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al Banna has said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) had sent out a “note verbale” to all the embassies in the UAE, including the Indian mission, during the past couple of weeks on the issue.

“We have sent the note verbale and all the embassies have been informed including the Indian embassy in the UAE and even the Ministry of External Affairs in India,” Al Banna told Gulf News over phone on Saturday.

He said the UAE has offered to test those who want to be evacuated.

“We are assuring everybody that we have the best of the facilities, the best of the testing centres and we have tested more than 500,000 people,” he said.

“We are assuring them also of our cooperation to fly those who got stranded in the UAE for some reasons. Some got stuck because of the lockdown and closure of airports in India. Some were visiting the UAE.”

“We are offering our system and making sure that they are good (to fly) by doing all the tests and transport them according to the request of their own government,” he said.

The envoy said those who test positive for COVID-19 will remain in the UAE. “They will be treated in our home facilities,” he added.

The Kerala High Court on Saturday sought the central government's response to a petition seeking a direction to bring back Indians stranded in the UAE in view of the coronavirus outbreak in the gulf nation.

Considering the plea by Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) in Dubai, the court directed the Centre to file an affidavit on the steps taken by it to ensure the safety of Indians living there and bring back those stuck in the Gulf countries.

In its plea, KMCC, the organisation for non-resident Indians from Kerala, sought directions to the Ministries of External Affairs and Civil Aviation to provide exemptions in the international air travel ban to bring back those Indians stranded in the UAE.

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News Network
April 30,2020

Riyadh, Apr 30: Saudi Arabia on Thursday recorded 1,351 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 22,753, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

The ministry also announced 5 more deaths and 210 new recoveries, raising the total number of fatalities and recoveries to 162 and 3,163 respectively.

Riyadh with 440 cases topped the list, followed by 392 cases in Makkah, 120 in Jeddah and 119 in Madinah.

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News Network
April 20,2020

Apr 20: Eight Indians, including two engineers, have died due to the novel coronavirus in Saudi Arabia, according to a media report on Sunday.

Mohammed Aslam Khan, an electrical engineer in Makkah, and Azmatullah Khan, an engineer at the Makkah Haram power station, have died due to the COVID-19, Saudi Gazette reported.

Aslam Khan, aged 51, who hailed from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, was admitted to King Faisal Hospital, Makkah on April 3, following worsening of his condition after being infected with fever and throat pain.

He had been on ventilator for more than two weeks and breathed his last on Saturday night, the paper said.

Khan is survived by wife and a daughter and a son. His wife and children are under self-imposed home quarantine.

Azmatullah Khan, from Telangana, died of coronavirus on Friday.

Mujeeb Pukkottoor, a prominent Indian social worker and general secretary of Makkah chapter of Kerala Muslim Cultural Center, told the paper that the body of Khan was buried in Makkah on Sunday.

Khan, aged 65, had been working with Saudi Binladin Group for the last 32 years.

Fakre Alam, an employee at the Haram Project of Saudi Binladin Group in Makkah, died on Sunday due to infection, the paper said.

Barkt Ali Abdullatif Fakir, an electrical technician working in Medina, also died of coronavirus, it said.

According to the Saudi Ministry of Health’s daily report published on April 14, the number of coronavirus infected cases among workers of Saudi Binladin Group in various parts of the Kingdom stood at 117, and these included 70 cases in Makkah.

The first two Indian fatalities were reported from Medina and Riyadh earlier this month with the death of Shebnaz Pala Kandiyil (29) and Safvan Nadamal (41), both from Kerala.

Mohammed Sadiq, from Hyderabad, working in Jeddah and Suleman Sayyid Junaid (Maharashtra) are other Indians who died due to COVID-19 in the Gulf kingdom, the paper said.

Shebnaz from Panoor in Kannoor district died on April 3 and his body was buried in Medina on April 7. He came back to the Kingdom March 3 after his marriage in January.

Safvan, a taxi driver from Chemmad in Malappuram district, died on April 2 and was buried in Riyadh on April 8.

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