CAREEM launches service for disabled passengers in the Kingdom

Wednesday 27 July 2016

Riyadh - MENA Herald: CAREEM, the region’s leading car booking service and home-grown app, today announced the launch of ‘CAREEM ONE’ in Saudi Arabia, which caters for passengers with disabilities. The first app service in the region that offers transportation solutions to people with disabilities and the elderly. The announcement is in line with Saudi Arabia’s 2030 Vision to improve equal opportunities for Saudis and is sponsored by The Ministry of Labor.
Careem has brought a new fleet of specially-adapted vehicles into its network and modified its reservation system so passengers with disabilities can order on demand transport that suits their specific requirements at the click of a button.
Dr. Abdulla Elyas, co-founder of Careem and Managing Director in Saudi Arabia said: “As a leader in the industry we feel obligated to lead by example and set the tone for other companies to do the same. We are in the region to offer safe and reliable rides for everyone, including people with disabilities. We are proud to be the first car booking application in MENAP that opens the opportunity for people with disabilities to book a ride on demand through an app. We will continue to grow and evolve to make sure we are accessible to all the different segments within our community.
“According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 15% of the world's population live with some form of disability. In the Kingdom almost 4% of the population have special requirements. In other words, almost 4% of the people living in Saudi don’t have facilitated means of transportation and now with the push of a button, they will have a ‘CAREEM ONE’ at their door step.”
Salem Al Shaman, disability rights activist, commented: “People with mobility impairment face challenges while accessing transport services due to the lack of sufficient disability abled cars, and this affects their daily life. Careem's new offering will help do away with the inconveniences especially with the feature that allows passengers to order a ride for “later”.
How it works is very simple, open your CAREEM app, select ‘CAREEM ONE’ Car type at the top of your screen, set your location then click ride now. The feature is currently operating in pilot mode and looking into adding more vehicles into their fleet within the next few months.
CAREEM operates in 27 cities and 10 countries in the Middle East. In Saudi Arabia Careem is operating across 10 local cities which include Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Dhahran, Khobar, Alqaseem, Makka, Madinah, Alhasa, Jubail.

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