Egypt: Court suspends Uber and Careem March 20

Event

On Tuesday, March 20, Egypt’s Administrative Court ordered the ride-share companies Uber and Careem to suspend operations, effective immediately. The court suspended the licenses for both companies after ruling in favor of a group of taxi drivers that filed a lawsuit in March 2017 against them. According to judicial sources, both companies have 60 days to appeal the ruling. Uber released a statement saying that it plans to file an appeal.

Context

Uber has been active in Egypt since 2014, with up to 4 million users. According to company officials, Egypt is Uber’s largest market in the Middle East and had over 157,000 drivers signed in 2017. Taxi drivers claim that Uber and Careem are illegal because the private vehicles are not registered as taxis and the drivers do not pay related taxes. The regular taxi drivers also claim that the ride-share companies have decreased their standard of living due to competition.

Advice

Individuals in Egypt are advised to monitor developments to the situation and use alternative means of transportation.