'Real' metro ticket price EGP 16, hikes vital for developments: Minister

CAIRO – 12 May 2018: Transport Minister Hisham Arafat said despite the recent hikes in metro ticket prices, removing government subsidy from the prices of tickets will raise the price up to EGP 16 per ticket.

Arafat added to anchor Ahmed Moussa's night-time TV program on Sada El-Balad channel that the government bears EGP 9 of the actual price of tickets so that citizens can get access to any station for EGP 7.

He also pointed out that the actual price of the metro service is around EGP 0.38/km.

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 fares for government workers, students, senior citizens and citizens with disabilities.

Arafat also denied rumors that underground metro train drivers get EGP 12 thousand per month, pointing out that senior drivers receive only EGP 8,500.

He added that despite the recent hikes, Egypt is still considered among the cheapest countries in regard to prices of metro tickets, stressing that even ministers pay for their own tickets when they take the metro.

For his part, Assistant Minister of Transport Amr Shaat said only 15-20% of metro commuters in Egypt buy the EGP 7 tickets.

He pointed out that the plan to develop the first line of the metro and replace its complete power grid, in order to withstand the extra voltage of the new air-conditioned trains, requires around EGP 30 billion.

Shaat added, during his phone interview with talk-show host Amr Adib on ON ENT channel, that the first line cannot withhold the operation of more than 20 trains, therefore, the infrastructure of the first line shall be developed.

Connecting Greater Cairo

CAIRO - 13 April 2018: As of September, citizens of the affluent suburb Heliopolis will be able to stop at the first station of the under-construction fourth phase of the third metro line, which covers a distance of 48 km, making it the longest metro line in Egypt.

On Friday, Arafat said, during a phone interview with TV presenter Rasha Nabil on Channel 1, that the ministry is being honest with citizens, as these hikes will contribute to the development and renovation of the underground Metro system.

He stressed that the new hikes “could not be delayed even for one day.”

He pointed out that the cost of developing the first Metro line will reach EGP 30 billion; moreover, the ministry plans to sign an agreement to procure 32 air-conditioned trains.

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.