The Automobile Syndicate: The trade in visas behind the rental of Egyptian buses

The General Syndicate of Automobiles warned yesterday against the consequences of renting buses from Egypt, stressing the existence of the best national carrier, as well as a number of security risks that could occur as a result of renting from abroad in light of the events the region is going through.

The union’s warning comes against the background of the announcement by the Transport Committee of the Makkah Chamber at the beginning of the week of signing deals for the current year’s Hajj season with Egyptian companies specialized in land transport, to rent 2,920 buses at a value of more than 70 million riyals, in light of the difficulty of Turkish buses arriving due to the current events in Syria and Iraq.

The union’s secretary-general, Marwan Zubaidi, said in his interview with “Makkah”: “Those who demand buses from abroad want to put pressure on the Ministry of Hajj to obtain visas, and everyone knows the desired benefits as a result of obtaining the advantages behind those visas and the facilities that are provided.”

He added, “The best solution is the continuity of meetings between the two parties and reaching a common solution. They say that the union’s buses are old and repulse pilgrims from companies, and we confirm that they are equipped at the highest levels and 2014 models.”

Zubaidi called on the Makkah Chamber to return to the competent authority in this regard, referring to the union, and under the guidance of the Minister of Hajj, which is responsible for facilitating the tasks of domestic pilgrims companies to rent surplus buses to transport pilgrims. 25,000 riyals.” He denied specifying the amount of 35,000 riyals, stating that the prices range according to the service provided, the required specifications and their models, and the specifications required for domestic pilgrims’ companies.

Zubaidi added, “We have 18 companies and 19,000 buses in the syndicate. Only 15,000 buses were rented from them last year, and 4,000 remain without operational capacity.”

He explained that heading towards Egypt to rent buses is a wrong decision, and it is marred by security problems, especially with the volatile conditions in sister Egypt, as well as the exhaustion that could be imposed on the security authorities to monitor the entry of these buses into the Saudi interior, not to mention the possibility that these buses could not come at any moment. possible.

The Secretary-General of the Automobile Syndicate pointed out that renting 2,900 buses is fraught with problems for several considerations, including the busyness of customs in dismantling and installing what results in committees going to monitor the traffic and safety of these buses, adding that what the Makkah Chamber did is distorting the reputation of the transport companies affiliated with the Ministry of Hajj, indicating that they are She doesn’t work alone, she has partners and she has to go back to them and deal with them.

On the other hand, the Chairman of the Transport Committee in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Makkah, Saad Al-Qurashi, did not respond to commenting on the opinion of the union, while the official spokesman for the Chamber, Dr. Hisham Kaaki, was addressed, who stated that the opinion of the persons affiliated with the Chamber does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the entity.

In addition, the Egyptian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Afifi Abdel-Wahhab, said that knocking on the door of investments for Egypt in the Hajj and Umrah files indicates a true twinning between the two sides and encourages opening the door for investments in a different way, and he is registering for Saudi Arabia, which sees Egypt as a real economic partner.