Car cleaners back on Riyadh streets

Car wash men operating illegally in the Kingdom have reappeared in the Saudi capital’s streets days after the authorities cracked down on them.
Many car cleaners have stopped going to Al-Ahsa Road, where they cleaned cars for a fee, after four Bangladeshis were arrested toward the end of August.
“We could see about 3 or 4 of them these days, cleaning cars from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m when the bookstore and other establishments close for the day,” a Bangladeshi resident told Arab News.
However, he said, these car cleaners have increased their fees to SR15 although regular customers have insisted on paying the previous amount of SR10.
They’re discreetly hiding behind the trees, he added, and come out only to offer their services when a driver pulls up.
“When they think that it’s safe to be visible, they even come out from where they hide to guide a driver where he could park. If the driver parks in the slot shown him, that means business for them,” he said.
He said that so as not to be visible, they don’t stay in one place, with one cleaner waiting for customers in the same area but a little bit far from the other car wash men.
He noted that right beside their fast-food outlet, one Bangladeshi regularly awaits customers although he did not appear for some time after the authorities conducted a raid.
He added that these Bangladeshis had been cleaning cars in the area for years and that a crackdown on them had been launched from time to time.
“They are good in running away. That’s why they keep coming back thinking that the authorities won’t catch them. However, the authorities have their own way of catching them,” he said.
That’s why, he added, they were able to arrest four Bangladeshi car cleaners when they conducted a raid in the area recently.