All you need to know about Public transportation

Welcome guys and gals


I'll discussing all the public transportation types in Egypt

note: this from more than 9 years experience in Egypt
but it's not accurate 100%


so let's get started

Taxi's types

The White Taxi

Cost:
starting from 2.5 pounds (entering the car + the first kilometer) + 1 pound for each additional kilometer


Comfortably:
good (depending of the car and it's your right to ask him to turn on the air condition)


Where to find:
every where


Advantage:
fixed prices has a meter counter with the price (affordable price)


Disadvantage:
i. some cabs will tell you that they don't have a change to take more money so take chance with you

ii. some cabs are saying their counter is broken down, so when you ride a taxi if you see him didn't turn the counter on ask him to do and if he said it's broken down get out of the car

iii. in the high traffic places while you sill waiting in car the counter is still counting

The Capital Taxi or The Yellow Taxi

the service called: Cairo taxi services

Cost:
in Cairo: starting from 3.5 pounds ((entering the car + the first kilometer) + 1.25 L.E for each additional kilometer

in Alexandria: starting from 4 pounds + 1.5 L.E for each kilometer + 10% sales tax


Comfortably:
excellent ( with air condition )


Where to find:
Pre-Reserve by calling 19155 if your in Cairo
and 19559 in Alexandria


Advantage:
fixed price (has a meter counter with the price (fair price), the cabs are gentle and respectful


Disadvantage:
i. it's not easy to find an empty one on the streets so you need to reserved in advance
ii. the service works only in Cairo & Alex
iii. in the high traffic places while you sill waiting in car the counter is still counting

p.s: this is not the same Taxi in Ismailia (both are yellow)

The Black taxi

Cost:
depending on the taxi cab!


Comfortably:
fair(depending of the car and it's hard to find air condition)


Where to find:
every where specially when you don't need them


Advantage:
when you discide you'll take a white taxi, the street become full of black taxi


Disadvantage:
i. some cabs will give you a really high price so when you negotiate with him he will make a discount but it's still high price, so before you enter the cars ask him how it will cost and tell him what you are willing to pay, if you don't know the fair price to the place you want to go don't take it!

p.s: not all of them are bad guys but most of them are greedy

p.p.s: for each province there's a different color (black with white one exist in Cairo)

London Taxi

Cost:
Starting from 50 L.E



Comfortably:
The BEST (LCD + Wifi + air condition + you can pay using your credit cards)


Where to find:
only on the airport (after the revolution)not sure if they back to work on the city again
but you can call them 19670 to Pre-Reserve one


Advantage:
you feel like a king


Disadvantage:
i. very high prices but still affordable for the tourists


list of the London Taxi's prices

Microbus

The most popular transportation Vehicle

(1)

(2)

(3)



Cost:
Starting from 0.5 to 4 L.E (inside the Cairo depending on where you're going)

p.s: the cost i'm talking about is inside cairo only, so for example if you're going to Alexandria from Ramses station it will cost you 20 L.E


Comfortably:
depend on the type of the microbus ( as you see in the photos above no,(3) very good, no,(1) fair, no,(2) low)


Where to find:
everywhere


Advantage:
i. in most places it's working 24 hours
2. cheap
3. cover all Cairo
3. they stop wherever you want, and if you are lucky might even take you home.
4. very fast

Disadvantage:
i. sometimes they love to turn their crappy local music on highest volume possible

The Underground Metro

Cost:
1 L.E/ticket

Comfortably:
fair and very good ( if you found an empty seat )


Where to find:
check out the maps below and the station's lines


Advantage:
i.very cheap
ii.Fast
iii.no traffic
iv.systematic (there's available Metro each ~ 5 minutes)
v.working almost all the day (check the working times below)
vi.covering alot of cities in Cairo
vii.there are also 2 special carriages in the middle for girls and women only so they can get rid of the bad guys


Disadvantage:
i. can be crowded specially in the traffic jam (when the employees are going to work and return from it) some times you can't find a place to put one of your legs inside so you may skip 3 or 4 metros but still better than the traffic on streets
in the traffic jam

ii. sometimes inside the metro in the crowded times there might be some thieves with a light hands and they may steal you cellphone or your wallet so make sure you're securing your staff or hold them on your hand

iii. It's not working outside Cairo

ps. the metro carries nearly 4 million passengers per day!


Working Time:
On the Summer: from 6 am to 12:30 am
on the Winter: from 6 am to 1:00 am

[b]Logo of The Underground Metro

Metro Lines


Line 1
Cairo Metro

    Helwan حلوان
    Ain Helwan عين حلوان
    Helwan University جامعة حلوان
    Wadi Hof وادي حوف
    Hadayeq Helwan حدائق حلوان
    El-Maasara المعصرة
    Tora El-Asmant طرة الأسمنت
    Kozzika كوتسكا
    Tora El-Balad طرة البلد
    Thakanat El-Maadi ثكنات المعادي
    Maadi المعادي
    Hadayeq El-Maadi حدائق المعادي
    Dar El-Salam دار السلام
    El-Zahraa' الزهراء
    Mar Girgis (English Saint George) مار جرجس
    El-Malek El-Saleh الملك الصالح
        Interchange with Line 4
    AlSayyeda Zeinab السيدة زينب
    Saad Zaghloul سعد زغلول
    Sadat السادات
        Interchange with Line 2
    Gamal AbdAlNasser جمال عبدالناصر
        interchange with Line 3
    Orabi عرابي
    Shuhada (know also as Ramsees) - (previous name : Mubarak ) شهداء
        Interchange with Line 2, trams, and mainline rail routes
    Ghamra غمرة
    El-Demerdash الدمرداش
    Manshiet El-Sadr منشية الصدر
    Kobri El-Qobba كوبري القبة
    Hammamat El-Qobba حمامات القبة
    Saray El-Qobba ساراي القبة
    Hadayeq El-Zaitoun حدائق الزيتون
    Helmeyet El-Zaitoun حلمية الزيتون
    El-Matareyya المطرية
    Ain Shams عين شمس
    Ezbet El-Nakhl عزبة النخل
    El-Marg المرج
    New El-Marg

Line 2

    ElMounib المنيب
    Sakiat Mekki ساقية مكي
    Giza Suburbs ضواحي الجيزة
    Giza Railway محطة الجيزة
    Faisal فيصل
    Cairo University جامعة القاهرة
    Bohooth البحوث
    Dokki الدقي
    Gezira (Opera) الأوبرا
    Sadat السادات
        interchange with Line 1
    Naguib محمد نجيب
    Ataba العتبة
        interchange with Line 3
    Shuhada - (previous name : Mubarak) شهداء
        interchange with Line 1, trams, and mainline rail routes
    Massara حي شبرا
    Road El-Farag روض الفرج
    Sainte Teresa سانتا تريزا
    Khalafawy الخلفاوي
    Mezallat المظلات
    Koliet El-Zeraa كلية الزراعة
    Shobra El Kheima شبرا

Line 3

    Airport المطار
    Omar Ibn Al Khattab
    Ain Shams 2 عين شمس ٢
    Ain Shams 1 عين شمس ١
    El Arab العرب
    Alf Maskan ألف مسكن
    Heliopolis Square ميدان هليوبوليس
    Haroun هارون
    AlAhram الأهرام
    Koleyet El Banat كلية البنات
    The Stadium الإستاد
    Cairo Fairground أرض المعارض
    Abbassiya العباسية
    Abdou Pasha عبده باشا
    El Geish الجيش
    Bab El Shaaria باب الشعرية
    Ataba العتبة
        Interchange with Line 2
    Nasser جمال عبدالناصر
        Interchange with Line 1
    Maspero ماسبيرو
    Zamalek الزمالك
            Kit Kat' الكيت كات'

North Direction

            Sudan St. شارع السودان
        Imbaba إمبابة
            El Moneera
        El Bohy

South Direction

        El Tawfikeya
            Wdi El Nil
            Mustafa Mahmoud مصطفى محمود
            Shehab شهاب


The Mohandiseen line is still under feasibility study since it wasn't included in the original plan and it might be removed according to budget limitations. According to a statement to the previous minister of transportation, Dr. Ibrahim El Demery, the Mohandiseen part will be the last phase of the 3rd line with an estimated date of operation around 2019.


Line 4

    Sheikh Zayed City مدينة الشيخ زايد
    October - Oasis Highway طريق أكتوبر - الواحات
    Ahram Gardens حدائق الأهرام
    The Grand Egyptian Museum المتحف المصري الجديد
    Remaya Square ميدان الرماية
    Mansoureya المنصورية
    Arish العريش
    Talbeya الطالبية
    Giza Railways سكك حديد الجيزة
        Interchange with Line 2
    Manyal المنيل
    El-Malek El-Saleh الملك الصالح
        Interchange with Line 1
    Magra El-Oyoun مجرى العيون
    Salah Eldin Citadel قلعة صلاح الدين
    ElMalek Mansour -Salah Salem Intersect- -الملك منصور -تقاطع صلاح سالم
    The 6th District -ElHay ElSadis- الحي السادس
    ElTayaran الطيران
    Abbas ElAkkad عباس العقاد
    Makram Ebeid مكرم عبيد
    Ahmed ElZomor أحمد الزمر
    El-Methaq الميثاق
    Police Academy أكاديمية الشرطة


There are also plans to extend Line 4 to reach the 6th of October Governorate but currently it's still in the planning phase; station is yet to be identified

Metro's Map

Tramco

It's called also micro-bus, serfees

Cost:
Starting from 0.5 L.E to 2 L.E (depending on where it's going)

Comfortably:
very low


Where to find:
most of the time on the local areas and some bus stations


Advantage:
very cheep


Disadvantage:
i. high risk and the drivers are rude and sometimes vey young!
ii. you'll hear all the tough language + they love to turn their crappy local music on highest volume possible
iii. some of them live to drive on a high speed

Tok Tok

Cost:
Starting from 1 L.E to 3 L.E


Comfortably:
it's the opposite of the word comfort


Where to find:
most of the time on the local and poor areas in Egypt where there's no buses or macro-buses are not working there


Advantage:
serving in the places where you can't find anything going to where you want ( it's like a taxi with all of this disadvantage)


Disadvantage:
i. the driver sometimes is 13 years and younger!
ii. you'll hear all the tough language + they love to turn their crappy local music on highest volume possible:D
iii. can flip easily and now days it's not recommended to take one till the security back again
v. the drivers become greedy so you have to make a deal before ride it

Tram

Cost:
0.5 L.E


Comfortably:
good


Where to find:
there are 5 stations
rarely used but i included below showing their tracks


Advantage:
i. very cheap
ii. have their own road
so some times toy don't have option if the traffic is extremely high
ii. cover all Masr El-gedida


Disadvantage:
i. very slow ( takes like 3 months )
ii. always comes late to their appointments  







special thanks for erikabrio for adding more value to the topic


To be continued

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