Uber, Careem to continue operations in Egypt as court reverses ban

Egyptians who depend on ride-hailing services, Uber and Careem can heave a sigh of relief after a court overturned an earlier judicial decision to suspend the licenses of the two companies.

Last month, an administrative court in the country ordered the government to ban the service providers’ activities.

This followed a suit by a group of taxi drivers claiming that Uber and Careem were breaking the country’s traffic law by using privately-owned vehicles for commercial purposes.

The two ride-hailing services were asked to immediately halt their operations following the order.

However, they appealed to the Cairo Court of Urgent Matters, saying that the previous ruling should be suspended and they should be allowed to continue work until a final decision from the Highest Administrative Court, Reuters news agency reports.

Uber started operations in Egypt in November 2014. It has since served as a source of income for many, with more than 30,000 drivers using the device.

The United Arab Emirates-based Careem which operates across 14 countries the Middle East, also launched in Egypt in 2014.