A Cairo court of urgent matters decided on Saturday that two ride hailing apps Uber and Careem can resume their work in Egypt, contradicting a recent decision by the Administrative court to ban the companies operations and block their applications until they will be authorized as normal taxis.
Earlier in March Egypt’s Administrative Court issued a verdict ordering the government to shut down Uber and Careem and close their mobile applications for allegedly violating Egyptian law. After the decision, Uber announced that it will appeal to the court.
Last week Uber filed a complaint to the court of urgent matters to suspend implementing the order of the administrative court until a final decision in Uber’s appeal takes place.
On 30 March, members of the Transport and Communications Commission, National Security, Economic Affairs, and Communications in the House of Representatives approved in principle the draft law on the regulation of land transport services which uses information technology for passengers. The discussion was attended by representatives from Uber and Careem.
After the services of both companies gained popularity over the past couple of years, it provoked a backlash from white cab drivers who claimed that they had lost huge amounts of money and that their profits decreased. They acted by filing a lawsuit accusing both Uber and Careem of violating Egyptian traffic laws by using private cars for commercial purposes.
