Taking pilgrims for a ride...

Pilgrims going in their cars are stopped at the Shumaisi check point, which is located on the highway between Makkah and Jeddah. (SPA)

JEDDAH: It’s like a double-whammy for the Jeddah pilgrims heading toward Makkah.
Pilgrims going in their cars are stopped at the Shumaisi check point, which is located on the highway between Makkah and Jeddah; they are asked to park their cars in the parking lot before heading to Makkah in buses after buying an SR5 ticket.
The pilgrims are however complaining that some expats working for the transport company in the parking lots are charging SR15 instead of SR5, which is normally the one-way bus ticket price, bought from the offices of the transport company, a local newspaper reported.
Fadh Al-Jasir, a pilgrim from Qasim Province, said due to new security arrangements in Ramadan he was forced to park his car in the parking lot. On the other hand transport staff demanded SR10 extra for the ticket. He said he ultimately decided to abandon the bus service and hire a taxi that charged him SR10.
Abdulaziz Al-Twaijri, another citizen, said renting a taxi for the whole day is better than riding the bus because of these extra charges, not to mention standing in the long queue under the sun.
Sultan Al-Ansari said the workers at the transport company refused to let passengers board the bus unless they paid the extra mofees.
“My mother, sister and I wanted to go to the Grand Mosque; we refused to pay the extra money and took a taxi instead,” he added.
Other citizens also complained about the extra price, saying it does not make sense to buy the ticket with SR5 and then pay the extra SR10 for the bus to Makkah.
The transport company workers however denied charging any extra price.
“The prices are fixed by the company, which is SR 5 for one way; there are no increases or extra fees,” one worker said.