RIYADH – An hour after a Saudi royal decree was announced in Septemberallowing women to drive, ride-hailing company Careem to recruit 100, 000drivers in the kingdom.

Uber shortly followed pursuit launching a two-year initiative whilepledging over $250,000 in order to make driving schools more accessible forwomen who are interested to learn how to drive and provide part-timeeconomic opportunities for them as drivers for Uber.

Both companies hope to tap into a fairly large market in the kingdom wherea lot of conservative women prefer to not ride with men whom they are notrelated to.

“We really see it as opening up the business more,” Anthony Khoury, Uber’sregional general manager, told the Los Angeles Timeslink>.

About 3,000 women have signed up to work as drivers with Careem, and thecompany has organized special women-only sessions to begin teaching themhow to use their online platform.

The newspaper reported that Careem will only allow women and families tosummon a female driver as some women raised concerns about being summonedto drive male customers.

“Female captains will help us provide a better service to many women whowant to travel but refuse to be driven by men,’’ Careem’s co-founder andchief privacy officer, Doctor Abdallah Elyas said.

“This means that a new segment of Saudi society that does not use ourservices will begin (to use it) next June,” he added.

There was worry that these apps would lose a large customer base as womenwould not use their services once they are able to drive themselves, but byhiring female drivers, they are expecting to gain new customers as well.

Female customers represent 80 percent of Uber’s Saudi customer base and 70percent of business for Careem, according to CNNlink>.

The spokesperson for the Saudi Public Transport Authority (PTA), AbdullahAl-Mutairi, said that the “same regulations governing the licensing of menwho work in transportation will be applicable to women.”

“Those regulations include having a valid Saudi driving license andinsurance, and being at least 20 years old,” he told the Tribune. He addedthat PTA also plans to hire female drivers in public transport roles “underthe condition of (the women) being sufficiently trained to drive vehiclesand various means of transportation, including buses.”