DUBAI: Saudi Arabian women created history by driving public taxis for the first time in the kingdom, according to media reports.
Several women were seen driving taxis in the Al-Ahsa governorate in the Eastern Province, picking up customers for destinations in the region and also to other places such as Riyadh and Dammam.
Some of the customers booked the women-driven taxis to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries as Al-Ahsa region is close to the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.
Al-Ekhbariya TV channel interviewed Munira Al-Marra, a driver, who said she had 30 years’ experience in driving vehicles including pickup and heavy vehicles.
“I can drive any type of vehicle and also can do spot repair in the event of breakdown or engine failure,” she told Al-Ekhbariya that conducted a survey of Saudi women drivers’ experiences in picking taxi driving as a career.
The women drivers are part of a project that involves 500 limousines, which serve all women of all segments of the Al-Ahsa governorate and the kingdom at large.
Saudi Arabia lifted the ban on women driving in June 2018, a landmark reform and one of the achievements of the kingdom’s Vision 2030.