Uber drivers arrested in Abu Dhabi, service suspended, and no one knows why

Illustration by Tech in Asia’s Andre Gunawan

Via TheNational:

Online private car companies Uber and Careem suspended their services in Abu Dhabi over the weekend after drivers were arrested by police.

As many as 50 drivers were held at a police station, and one driver was told 70 cars had been impounded.

“One of our drivers was put in jail at the weekend and it’s happened with loads of drivers from other limousine companies as well,” said an operations manager whose company provides limousine services to Uber and Careem.

“There’s a lot of confusion as to why they were arrested. We haven’t been able to see them or speak to them yet.”

“A number of the limousine companies we work with had their drivers stopped, with the result being that the companies decided to go offline on Saturday out of nervousness and lack of clarity,” said Christian Eid, Careem’s marketing vice president in Dubai.

Uber and Careem, its primary rival in the Middle East, are heavily regulated in the United Arab Emirates. They’re not allowed to set their own prices and are required to work with existing taxi operators rather than private vehicles.

A notice on Uber’s website says regulations in Dubai compel it to price the service 30 percent higher than taxis.

In October, several Uber drivers in the UAE were reportedly slapped with fines of up to US$540 due to an ongoing tussle between the transportation regulator and ridehailing services.