Ride-sharing vehicle number shrinks: Competition, high costs blamed

AMMAN — The number of vehicles using ride-sharing apps decreased by 682 to reach 11,024 belonging to seven companies in the second quarter of this year, according to the Land Transport Regulatory Commission (LTRC).

The number of service taxis reached 1,004 in the second quarter of this year, and the number of public buses stood at 744, during the same period, according to the LTRC performance index.

The number of yellow taxi vehicles witnessed a slight decrease by one vehicle compared with the first quarter of this year, reaching 5,345 in the second quarter of this year.

With regard to transport companies, the number of general cargo transport companies reached 145, container transport companies 118, and crude oil and its derivative transport companies stood at 33 during the first quarter of this year.

In the first quarter of this year, the number of truck heads increased to 21,009, and the number of trailers increased to 21,974, according to the LTRC.

Economist Husam Ayesh attributed the decrease in the number of ride-sharing apps to the “chaos” in the ride-sharing market.

“There is great competition between applications, and the presence of unlicensed applications affects the continuity of workers on these applications,” Ayesh told The Jordan Times.

He added that the cost of licensing and the high cost of smart applications compelled some to leave this market and adopt alternative modes of transportation.