By Bernd Debusmann Jr

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Posted inTransport

Uber pens partnership to give affordable transport for Saudi women

Women must be earning maximum SAR 8,000 a month to be eligible

By Bernd Debusmann Jr
The new partnership is aligned with Uber’s Masaruky (‘Your Path’) initiative, in which they pledged SAR 1 million to support Saudi women through driving schools.
The new partnership is aligned with Uber’s Masaruky (‘Your Path’) initiative, in which they pledged SAR 1 million to support Saudi women through driving schools.

Ride-hailing app Uber has announced a partnership with Saudi-based Takamol Holding to provide affordable and subsidised transportation solutions to Saudi women, it was announced on Sunday.

Takamol Holding operates Wusool, a programme developed by the kingdom’s Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) to help women overcome transportation challenges they face to and from their workplaces.

“Uber is a conscientious company that strives to uplift the communities it operates in,” Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Uber’s VP and EMEA regional general manager was quoted as saying by Arab News. “We are expanding exponentially within the Middle East and North Africa region, with Saudi Arabia being one of our fastest-growing markets.”

Gore-Coty added that Uber hopes to be “catalysts for economic growth in the kingdom.”

The new partnership is aligned with Uber’s Masaruky (‘Your Path’) initiative, in which they pledged SAR 1 million to support Saudi women through driving schools. Additionally, Uber has recently announced a feature that allows Saudi woman to select a preference for female drivers.

To participate in the programme, Saudi women between the ages of 18 and 65 can apply through Taqat, the HRDF’s national labour gateway, to receive partially subsidised Wusool rides on the Uber app.

Applicants must be working in the private sector and earning a maximum income of SAR 8,000 per month.

To date, over 25,000 women have participated in the Wusool programme.

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