Mass Transit

India's major contribution to urban transit has been the tuk-tuk. This popular three-wheeled vehicle spread to Egypt a few years ago. It's a good fit. Many people here move from place to place via small buses in Cairo, but those buses might drop a passenger off with a half mile or more to go to reach their home or other destination.

Many neighborhoods have found entrepreneurial young men acquiring tuk-tuks and gathering near the bus stops. There they offer a cheap tuk-tuk ride to home or other destination. The fare is usually only an Egyptian pound or two. (15-30 cents) Here is a picture of a group of tuk-tuks gathered at a bus stop near our apartment. That white vehicle in the center is a neighborhood bus that would typically run from near downtown out to this area, about 4-5 miles.


Last night we took our first ride in an Egyptian tuk-tuk and our driver posed with us for a picture. The ride is a bit rough over potholes and speed-bumps but it got us home just fine.


The drivers are supposed to be limited to their immediate neighborhood and not travel on or cross major roads. Like all other traffic laws here, those are regarded as "suggestions."

I checked the price of gasoline yesterday. The "good stuff," 90 and 92 octane, is selling for the equivalent of $1.14 and $1.20 per gallon. I haven't found the price on the 85 octane that the cheaper cars run on.