REGULATION WATCH- Gov’t kickstarts implementation of Ride-Hailing Apps Act: The Madbouly Cabinet approved in its weekly meeting yesterday the executive regulations of the Ride-Hailing Apps Act, it said in a statement. The regs cover a variety of regulatory procedures, including registration, licensing, taxes and social insurance — stipulating that all licensed ride-hailing companies must show their drivers are meeting their social insurance payments in accordance with the law. The decree also focuses on quality, supervision and inspection in addition to tariff regulations and data protection. The Official Gazette published the full text of the regs.

If ride-hailing companies haven’t hired white cabs, they better start now: The decree also stressed that companies need to comply with hiring white cabs as stipulated by the law, which was approved by the House of Representatives last year. Uber and Careem have both been incorporating white cab drivers into their fleets.

Background: We’d previously noted that companies will be required to pay up to EGP 30 mn to acquire the license to receive a five-year operating license. Meanwhile, ride-sharing drivers must pay up to EGP 2,000 (up from EGP 1,000) for an annual license to work through the companies, and will pay taxes 25% higher than those imposed on cab drivers. Companies will also be required to pay a one-off fee to legalize their status. The law stipulates that this fee must be lower than the cost of the operating license. Penalties will be imposed on companies and drivers that operate without the necessary licenses as well as companies that fail to share their databases as required by the state or incorporate white taxis in their fleets. These violations could also lead to companies’ licenses being revoked.