Cairo metro fare hike results in public backlash
Egyptian news recently reported that the Transport Ministry will increase the price of a metro ticket by 2,500%, which activists consider extremely unfair.
CAIRO — According to various news sites, Egyptian Minister of Transport Hani Dahi announced at a press conference on Dec. 29, 2014, that the fair price of a metro ticket, which currently does not generate any profits for the ministry, should be 25 Egyptian pounds ($3.40) instead of the current price of 1 Egyptian pound (14 cents).
During the same press conference Dahi said that the subsidy — which is 24 Egyptian pounds ($3.20) per ticket — cost the metro 130 million Egyptian pounds ($17.6 million) in losses last year, and they are expected to reach 180 million Egyptian pounds ($24.4 million) this year. This means that the daily loss of the metro is estimated at nearly 500,000 Egyptian pounds ($68,038) in 2015.
