Electric cars replace carriages in Jordan’s touristy Petra

Horses and donkeys have served to pull the carriages of tourists in the ancient Jordanian city of Petra, but with concerns for animal rights, they began to be replaced by electric vehicles.

A small fleet of 10 rechargeable electric carts takes visitors through the colorful Siq or the gorge that leads to the celebrated capital of the Nabataeans, which dates back to the 1st century BC.

“There is no pollution or smoke,” and the change “reduced the cases of animal abuse,” said Suleiman Farajat, head of the Petra Regional Development and Tourism Authority.

Buggy-type vehicles have less impact because “sometimes the carriage wheels hit the side of the Sik, horse manure causes a bad smell and it is not easy to clean,” Farajat said.

The animal rights organization PETA, which has criticized the use of animals in carriages, called the project a “major step in protecting animal rights.”

The group added that it will work with authorities to achieve “a day when there is only free transport of animals in Petra.”

For now, the Petra authorities say they will keep some of the horses “to preserve the character of the place, as it is a world heritage site.”

Surprising place

But the change has been recognized for another reason: It helps make the site more accessible to elderly and disabled visitors.

Rudy, a 43-year-old Austrian tourist in a wheelchair, said he repeatedly postponed travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and is now “very happy” that he did.

“Disabled people and people with difficulties walking long distances … now have the possibility to see this amazing place,” he declared.

An American tourist named Angie, 60, agreed: “It seems a bit out of place to have these (vehicles) in a beautiful place like this, but at our age, it was nice to come back in an electric cart.”

Jordan’s tourism industry is recovering from the COVID-19 hit, after it contributed 10% of its GDP. The pandemic reduced its tourism revenue from $ 5.8 billion in 2019 to $ 1 billion last year.

Petra, Jordan’s main tourist site, supports hundreds of families.

The replacement of 12 horse carriages with 10 electric vehicles was done in agreement with the horse owners association.

Foreign tourists pay 25 dinars (US $ 35) and Jordanians 15 dinars for the round trip between the visitor center and the archaeological site.

The association leaves 75% of the income and the remaining 25% goes to the authority, according to Farajat.

The head of the association, Mohammad Amarat, said that electric car operators earn more than 300 Jordanian dinars (US $ 423) per month.

One benefit is that the vehicles can carry five passengers, compared to just two in carriages.

Amarat says he prefers the new vehicles because before the horses “were tired, the income was less and the travel time was longer.”