Jordan launches battle against Uber
The Jordanian government is cracking down on Uber drivers because the company is in violation of public transit laws.
AMMAN, Jordan — The Jordanian government has cracked down on the popular US ride-hailing company Uber and its Dubai-based rival, Careem, impounding around 60 of their cars, an Amman police official told Al-Monitor. The police have covertly ordered Uber rides on the company’s app and then after the drivers' arrival seized the cars and issued fines. Justifying the government’s recent change in policy toward the US company, Marwan Hmoud, director general of the Land Transport Regulatory Commission (LTRC), said, “[Uber] cars currently operating in Amman and other governorates are violating traffic rules and regulations.”
Many Amman residents resent the government’s interference in this aspect of daily life because the ride-hailing companies are well-liked in the city. Despite frequently adopting a pro-government line, Nabil Sharif, the former minister of state for media affairs and Jordanian ambassador to Morocco, opposes the police campaign to impound Uber and Careem vehicles. “This is the new technology all over the world,” he told Al-Monitor. “You cannot stop this wave of change.”
Hazem Zureiqat, an urban planning specialist and Uber user, explained, “The reasons why these services are successful here is because the government has failed to provide a decent public transport system.” Echoing the complaints of many Amman residents, Zureiqat added that people are frustrated with taxi drivers who insist on smoking in the vehicle or who violate local law by refusing to abide by the meter.
Sharif noted that the taxi industry feels “threatened by Uber and its advanced services.” He said that the powerful taxi sector likely lobbied the Transportation Ministry and as a result, he said, “Probably, the government caved into that pressure.”
