AMMAN — Hundreds of drivers
who work for ridesharing companies like Careem and Uber threatened to stage a protest
in front of Parliament next month, following a decision by the
Land Transport Regulatory Commission (LTRC) to reduce the operational life of their cars from
seven to five years.
اضافة اعلان
Lawrence Al-Rifai, the
drivers’ spokesman, told
Jordan News that the drivers are going to carry
out a protest on December 7, “not only to complain about the reduction of
vehicles’ operational life, but also against the dominance of the LTRC.”
Rifai said that this decision
would make it difficult for drivers to repair their vehicles because thousands
of drivers would not be able to pay off their debts.
He added that at a time when
the drivers are complaining about problems they face with ridesharing companies,
the commission decided to reduce the operational life of their vehicles. “
The Ministry of Transport and the commission stand with the ridesharing companies —
against drivers,” he said.
Among their demands is the
extension of the operational life of their vehicles to up to 10 years, reducing
the vehicle permit fees to JD200 annually instead of JD400, and allowing them
to renew their permits through the LTRC directly without referring back to their
respective companies. They also want to decrease the deductible percentage of
their daily income.
Rifai claimed that some ridesharing
companies do not adhere to the official price rate and that “neither the commission
nor the ministry has taken any action”.
He said that there are more
than 3,700 financially distressed drivers, expecting the number to increase
significantly next year.
Majdi Saafin, a driver, saidthat drivers are in shock after being informed of the commission’s
decision, noting that most of the drivers suffer from difficult financial
situations and cannot afford to buy new vehicles. “If the commission does not
reconsider its decision, many of their vehicles will be impounded,” he said.
Saafin claimed that both the
commission and the ministry are not responsive to their demands, despite many
attempts to talk to them.
Fadi Sulaiman, another driver,
told
Jordan News that the commission has extended the operational life of the
vehicles in 2019, after repeated requests from drivers, however, “it decided
behind our backs to reduce it again to five years”.
Ali Odebiat, the spokesperson
of the Ministry of Transportation told
Jordan News that the LTRC is the
party the drivers should talk to and that the ministry cannot interfere. The ministry’s
doors are always open to everyone, and the drivers have already met the minister
more than one time and discussed their problems, he added.
LTRC Director-General Tarek
Habashneh told
Jordan News that the operational life for the vehicles is
five years for now; however “the decision is still under consideration”.
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