Saudi university to set up driving school for women

Saudi Arabia’s Princess Nourah Bin Abdulrahman University has announced plans to setup a driving school for women.

The university confirmed the plans on Twitter on Saturday, days after Saudi monarch King Salman confirmed measures to allow women to drive from June next year.

Read: Saudi women to be allowed to drive from age 18

تستعد #جامعة_الأميرة_نورة لإنشاء مدرسة لتعليم القيادة بالتعاون مع الجهات المختصة.#pnu pic.twitter.com/5pekS9XAno

— جامعة الأميرة نورة (@_PNU_KSA) September 30, 2017

Demand for driving lessons is expected to significantly increase next year as women seek to quickly take to the roads.

Others may seek to learn abroad so they can begin to drive as soon as possible.

Women holding international licences will not need to take lessons in the kingdom, with Saudi publication Okaz reporting that 1,470 alone have Jordanian licences.

The lifting of the ban is expected to allow women in the kingdom to have more economic freedom and reduce the number of accidents on the roads.

Some have speculated it could also reduce families’ reliance on the more than 1.3 million foreign drivers currently in the kingdom and provide a welcome boost to the automotive industry, which has recently been hit by falling sales across the Gulf region.

Read: Women drivers seen reviving Saudi car market

In a separate announcement, Riyadh’s King Saud University said it planned to open 4,500 spaces for women drivers at its female campus.