Jordan bans taxi-hailing app Careem

AMMAN, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Monday started banning taxi-hailing app Careem after a court ruling was issued.

The country's Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) sent letters to telecom companies, following a recent ruling by West Amman Court, to ban the application from operating in Jordan, according to a TRC statement.

Taxi drivers in Jordan have been protesting Uber and Careem applications, saying they negatively affected their businesses.

Investors in the taxi sector and owners of taxis filed several lawsuits recently for stopping the application.

Mahmoud Kharabsheh, a lawyer hired by several owners of taxi offices, filed lawsuits against Careem application.

"We have finally won a court ruling that banned Careem and we will soon work on other lawsuits to ban Uber applications because these apps are operating in Jordan without any licenses," the lawyer told Xinhua.

Tens of thousands of Jordanians started working with Uber and Careem applications when the apps were introduced in the country a few years ago.

Taxi owners protest that those who work with these apps do not pay taxes to the government and do not have proper licenses to transport passengers. Enditem