政策放开后，沙特女性似乎成为打车软件最有利可图的市场

NASHMIAH Alenzy, a doctor in Saudi Arabia’sconservative Qassim region, uses ride-hailing apps at least two or three timesa week, and sometimes every day, to get to work or to run errands. Before she started using these apps last year, every journey needed to be planned well inadvance as she negotiated getting a lift with her husband, her brother, or aprivate driver.

沙特阿拉伯卡西姆地区的NASHMIAH Alenzy医生每周至少两次或三次使用打车软件去上班或差遣，有时会每天都使用。 在去年开始使用这些软件之前，每次旅行都需要提前计划，以便可以与丈夫，兄弟或私人司机搭顺风车。

Barred from driving in a country with non-existent public transport, Saudi women are a profitable prospect for ride-hailing companies. Careem, a firm valued at $1bn that is based in Dubai and operates across the Middle East, north Africa and South Asia, set up shop in 2013. Uber followed in 2014. Both see the Saudi market as one of the most lucrative in theregion. Around four-fifths of their respective customers are women.

禁止在无公共交通工具的国家开车，这对打车软件公司来说是一个有利可图的前景。Careem是一家价值10亿美元的公司，总部设在迪拜，业务遍及中东，北非和南亚，于2013年成立了商店。Uber于2014年成立。两家公司都将沙特市场视为最有利可图的公司之一 地区。 他们大约四分之五的客户是女性。

Both firms are directly backed by the Saudistate. In response to falling oil revenues, the government’s “Vision 2030”programme seeks to diversify its sources of income. In June last year its sovereign-wealthfund ploughed $3.5bn into Uber; and in December Saudi Telecom, which is controlled by the same fund, took a 10% stake in Careem.

两家公司都直接受到沙特国家的支持。为了应对石油收入下滑，政府的“2030年愿景”计划旨在使其收入来源多样化。去年6月，其主权财富基金向Uber投资了35亿美元; 而同一基金所控制的沙特电讯则在十二月份持有Careem 10％股权。

If the motives for these investments are chiefly financial, the two firms also fit the government’s social goals. Both help (male) participation in the gig economy, in line with an aim to push more Saudis into the private sector, which is currently dominated by expatriates. Unemployment is high, particularly for the young. Around two-thirds of those in work are employed in the cushy public sector. Last year the Ministry of Transport decided that only Saudi drivers could be licensed to use their own cars for ride-hailing. Foreigners must be employed directly by taxi firms.

如果这些投资的动机主要是财务，这两家公司也符合政府的社会目标。 都是帮助（男性）参与经济发展，目的是将国民更多的参与到目前由外籍人士主导的私营部门。失业率高，特别是年轻人。大约三分之二的工作人员在轻松的公共部门就业。去年，运输部决定只有沙特司机可以获得许可使用自己的车来提供打车服务。外国人必须由出租车公司直接雇用。

Ride-hailing services also help with the government’s stated aim of boosting women’s labour-market activity. Only 1.9m out of 13.1m Saudi women participate in the workforce. One barrier to work is a lack of mobility; ride-hailing apps mean that more women—at least, those with credit cards and smartphones—can take up work or run their own businesses. Uber, under fire in its home market for its macho culture, has a better story to tell in the Gulf.

打车服务也有助于政府刺激妇女劳动力市场活动的目标。在13.1万沙特阿拉伯妇女中，只有1.9万人提供了劳动力。工作的一个障碍是缺乏流动性; 打车软件意味着更多的女性——至少有信用卡和手机的女性 ——可以承担工作或经营自己的业务。Uber在其家庭市场上为其强大的文化而起火，在海湾有更好的故事。

Saudi Arabia’s embrace of ride-hailing also exposes a contradiction. Because of pressure from Wahhabi clerics, women are not allowed to drive or to mix with men outside their family. Yet the state is actively encouraging them to spend time alone with total strangers, something that makes conservatives uncomfortable.

沙特阿拉伯对打车服务的包容也暴露了矛盾。由于来自瓦哈比牧师的压力，妇女不得开车或与外面男人混在一起。尽管国家正积极鼓励他们与陌生人共度时光，这也使保守派很不舒服。

Some women are annoyed for different reasons. The state ensures that women are dependent on men to get around, says Hatoon al Fassi, an academic, and is now profiting from that dependence. Despite her qualms, Dr al Fassi often has little choice but to use the Uber app herself. So long as women cannot take the wheel themselves, ride-hailing companies will be firmly in the driver’s seat.

有些妇女因为不同的原因而感到懊恼。一位学者Hatoon al Fassi说，国家确保妇女依靠男人来生活，现在正在从这种依赖中获利。尽管有些疑虑，Fassi经常别无选择，只能使用Uber软件。只要女人不能亲自控制方向盘，打车公司就会坚定地坐在司机的座位上。