AL-QURAYAT – A number of Saudi taxi drivers gathered outside Al-Qurayat governorate headquarters Tuesday to protest a decision preventing them from visiting Jordan more than six times a month. The Customs Department's decision to fine drivers who do not adhere to the new rule was being protested. The rule includes those who leave Saudi borders and return within two hours. The rule aims to curtail the smuggling of locally subsidized petrol byproducts, particularly benzene, Al-Hayat reported. A group of taxi drivers asked for the rule to be scrapped, as it would prevent them from regularly finding passengers wishing to travel to Jordan and vice versa. They said the decision stipulates that any car owner or taxi driver who frequently leaves the country must pay the difference between the price of locally subsidized petrol and that of the internationally produced petrol. Meanwhile, more than 100 Jordanian taxi drivers erected tents near the Al-Ameri customs checkpoint opposite the Saudi Al-Hudaitha customs checkpoint to protest the rule, which also banned the entry of the Jordanian cabs more than once every three days. The Jordanian taxi drivers said their Saudi counterparts smuggled petrol byproducts in fuel containers in their cars. A source at the Saudi Customs Department said customs officials in the Kingdom fine those caught smuggling fuel SR1,000. A circular outlining the new rule has been distributed to customs checkpoints all over the Kingdom. The new regulation excludes licensed taxicabs.
