Saudi nationals working as drivers in ride-sharing applications whose income has been affected by reduced activity due to the coronavirus pandemic will receive government financial support, announced Minister of Transport Saleh bin Nasser al-Jasser after King Salman bin Abdulaziz approved the initiative.
The Saudi drivers must be working full-time as drivers and should be registered with the Saudi Transport General Authority in order to qualify. They must not hold any other jobs.
Drivers who qualify for government financial support, will receive the equivalent of the minimum monthly salary for three months.
There are at more than 200,000 Saudi nationals registered to work in ride-sharing applications.
In April, Saudi Arabia’s government restricted working for ride-sharing applications to Saudi nationals, in a move to support employment of citizens in the private sector.
Ride-sharing app Uber announced early April that it was temporarily halting its services in several cities in Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh, Tabuk, Dammam, Dhahran and Al-Hofuf, and the governorates of Jeddah, Taif, Qatif and Khobar.
The Kingdom had imposed a 24-hour curfew in those areas.
The coronavirus outbreak in Saudi Arabia and the subsequent lockdowns have affected the income of many people in the Kingdom.
The government has announced several initiatives to support those affected, including disbursing approximately 1.2 billion Saudi Riyals ($319 million) to more than 400,000 Saudi nationals working in private sector companies which were affected by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
