Uber and Careem still down
They stay off the roads while limo drivers face arrest
ABU DHABI // Uber and Careem are staying off the roads in Abu Dhabi for as long as the drivers who provide their services face arrest.
The two online car- hailing companies suspended operations in the capital on Saturday after dozens of drivers were detained by police and had their cars impounded.
The arrests led some limousine companies to stop providing services to Uber and Careem, crippling their operations.
“At this point we do not know the reason for these detentions,” Uber said yesterday. The company said no drivers using the Uber app had been stopped, but it suspended its service “as a precautionary measure”.
It would not resume operations in Abu Dhabi “until further clarity on the matter and re- assurances that driver partners will not be at risk”.
“We are waiting for updates,” David Ham, Uber’s regional head of marketing, said at an event in Dubai. He would not comment further on the problems in Abu Dhabi, but said relations with the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai were good.
Uber and Careem, which were launched in Abu Dhabi in 2013 and work via mobile apps, are al- lowed to use only licensed drivers from the 18 registered limousine companies, must charge fares in line with limousine services and cannot compete directly with ordinary taxis.
In March, Uber cut prices in Abu Dhabi by 17 per cent on UberX, its low-cost service, reducing a fare from Etihad Towers to Marina Mall from about Dh21 to about Dh15.