Taxi drivers in northern Egypt protest against auto rickshaws

Taxi drivers in Mahalla El-Kobra say they are suffering as increasing numbers of unlicenced rickshaws appear on the streets

Tens of taxi drivers congregated in front of the city council's headquarters in the Nile Delta city of Mahalla El-Kobra, protesting against the heavy presence of auto rickshaws in the main streets of the city.
Rickshaws, or tok toks, have gradually become more common in Egypt over the past few years, although traffic departments do not license them.
The rickshaws drivers used to work illegally, confining themselves to rundown districts. However, since the January 25 Revolution they have started to appear almost everywhere.
Taxi drivers in Mahalla say they are severely affected by the rickshaws and called on the authorities to take action to keep the unlicensed three-wheeled vehicles off the streets.
Major General Abdul-Hamid El-Shenawi, governor of Gharbia, has already prohibited rickshaws in Mahalla and Tanta.
The protesting taxi drivers threatened to go on strike unless the traffic department meets their demands.
In the middle of March, a few hundred taxi drivers protested in front of the Ministry of Finance in Cairo about a different issue.
They objected to the terms of the replacement scheme the Ministry launched in mid-2009 to replace older traditional black-and-white taxis with new white-only taxis.