Saudi Arabia allowed women to drive from Sunday, overturning the world’s only ban on female motorists, a historic reform that is expected to usher in a new era of social mobility.

The move, which follows a sweeping crackdown on women activists who long opposed the ban, is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s wide-ranging reform drive to modernise the kingdom.

Women in the capital Riyadh and other cities began zipping around streets bathed in amber floodlights soon after the ban was lifted at midnight, some in cars with thumping stereo music.