Egypt raises transportation fares by 50 percent (Again!!)

[DJKeefy]

Egypt’s official state news agency reports that the governor of the Egyptian capital has announced a 50-percent increase in transportation fares, a day after the government increased fees for drinking water and sewage.

MENA quoted Cairo Gov. Atef Abdel-Hamid as saying the increase amounts to half an Egyptian pound for buses and it will go into effect Friday. He said the central transportation agency has suffered huge losses after fuel prices went up twice.

The daily el-Shorouk reported the fare of short-ride buses increased from 1 pound to 1.5 pounds, while longer rides reached 2.5 pounds.

Egypt is taking steps to reform its economy including flotation of the currency and cutting subsides. The measures meet demands by the International Monetary Fund, which secured a $12 billion bailout loan to Egypt.

Source: The Associated Press.

[carrie]

Go Bus Luxor-Hurghada from 65 to 90le, Local bus last week 1.25le looks now to have gone up to 1.50le. The ferry never seems to change still 25 piastres. How on earth are people going to manage? A lot more complaining from the locals.

[newcastle]

Yep. Something else to grumble about. But they'll get over it.

If Egypt wants to move away from a heavily subsidised stagnant economy then fuel subsidies have to be cut with the inevitable consequence of increases in bus/taxi fares.

The fact that cigarette costs have more than doubled over the last 2 years hasn't stopped the Egyptians ruining their health by spending over 1000EGP p.a. per family on fags.

Likewise, a rise in bus fares of 1 or 2 EGP isn't going to make people walk a couple of hundred metres rather than hop on a microbus.

More's the pity. The exercise would do them good.

[Dusak]

I feel more sorry for the bus drivers, they are getting it the neck from passengers, as if he can control the increases, according to my eyes on the ground. It would be nice if the government made it law that when you sat down on most of these buses, an iron bar did not attempt to penetrate your jacksie, you could no longer view the roads via the hole in the floor as you traveled along and any music or chantings were reduced to a single decibel instead of the more commonly found, twenty. Also it would be good if an automatic underarm deodorizer fired on each passenger as they got on, prior to them squashing next to you.