FILE: A maximum fare of EGP 6 will include one line of stations, from start to finish
CAIRO – 10 May 2018: The Ministry of Transport decided Thursday to increase the fare of underground Metro tickets starting Friday based on the length of each commute, the ministry said in a press statement.
Commuters will be charged a based fare of LE 3 ($ 0.16) for the first nine stops, andadditional LE 2 (total LE 5) for seven more stations.
The highest ticket price has been fixed at LE 7 if the commuter will use the metro for more than 16 stations.
The ministry also decided to apply discounted fairs for government workers, students, senior citizens and citizens with disabilities.
The ministry pointed out in the Thursday statement that the increase comes to fund the implementation of the development plan for Cairo’s underground metro that serves millions of Egyptian on a daily basis. The hikes also aim to cover operational costs of the railway system.
Over the past months, several media outlets quoted officials saying that a new hike was expected soon, suggesting that the new fare would depend on the number of stations the passenger intends to pass through.
On March 2017, Egypt increased the price of standard metro tickets to LE 2, doubling the cost from LE 1.
The statement also referred to around LE 618.6 million of accumulated losses and a total deficit of 94 percent in the maintenance and renovation budgets of 2016/17 and 2017/18, which have put the network at risk.
In recent years, Metro officials have urged the cabinet to increase ticket prices in order to stop financial losses suffered by the Cairo’s underground metro system, which is one of the oldest in the Middle East and Africa.
Over 3.5 million of Greater Cairo's 21 million inhabitants rely on the subway for their daily travel, according to estimates by the country's National Authority for Tunnels, Al-Ahram reported.
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