Crackdown on car washing on roads

Authorities in Jeddah have launched inspection teams to crack down on the practice of car washing in residential areas and on roads.
The move comes as part of Jeddah Municipality’s effort to educate the public about the importance of preserving water and raising awareness about protecting the environment.
Residents involved in washing cars on the streets and outside their residential units would be heavily fined.
Many residents as well as janitors and watchmen, who earn extra money washing cars, have not welcomed news of the crackdown.
“My landlord informed me that government inspectors now patrol the streets and requested that I stop washing his car for the time being,” said Yousef Lahaji, a janitor. “Washing cars is usually the job of every janitor in the city. We usually charge around SR50 to SR100 a month per vehicle, which serves as an additional source of income for us,” he added.
Ramadan S., a Pakistani janitor, said he charges SR60 per month for each car to supplement his SR1,000 salary. “This ban will affect poor expatriates with meager incomes,” he said.
Similarly, Rahim, an Indian janitor, said he has five children back home that he needs to provide for, and washing cars is a means to supplement his salary, adding that the campaign restricts his income.
Residents have been asked to clean and wash their cars at service stations or car washes.
Many residents consider washing their cars in the neighborhood a cheaper way to clean their vehicles, as opposed to going to a car wash.
Syed Safi, an Indian expatriate working in Jeddah, said he pays around SR50 per month to get his car washed, pointing out, “It’s a lot more convenient and cheaper for me to have my car washed by the watchman; when I go to work in the morning my car’s already clean.”
Mohammed Ali, a Palestinian resident, said: “The car washes charge more than SR100 per session. This is the amount we pay our janitor for the entire month. I recently got my car cleaned at a car wash in one of the malls here for SR60 and it was not even to my satisfaction. I request the authorities not to impose restrictions of this nature on the public.”