Egyptian MP Asmaa al-Gammal submitted an urgent statement on Friday to the House of Representatives regarding stricter regulations on all ride-sharing app companies in Egypt following the death of Habiba al-Shamaa, whom President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had intervened in an attempt to save her life.
Shamaa passed away on Thursday after falling into a coma that lasted for 21 days, which resulted from her jumping out of an Uber car when the driver had attempted to kidnap her.
Gammal submitted an urgent statement to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Hanafi Jabali, directed to the Minister of Communications and the concerned authorities to audit the work of Uber, InDriver, and DiDi, and any new companies.
She demanded that drivers be subjected to psychological and drug tests and that their criminal files be reviewed, especially after numerous cases of harassment and kidnapping attempts.
The MP condemned smart transportation companies for not adhering to the Prime Minister’s decisions regarding commitment to safety rules and procedures to protect passengers and citizens, by criminally investigating drivers and conducting drug tests periodically every three months.
These decisions include license withdrawal if the company does not comply, she said.
Gammal also called on the government to review the files of periodic drug tests for all drivers of smart transportation companies, which each company is supposed to carry out every three months since the driver was appointed.
She said that some of these companies have neglected this procedure in order to save expenses.
The MP extended her sincere condolences to the family of the victim, stressing that there must be a deterrent punishment for such crimes in order to protect citizens using these services.
