Taxi!

Amira El-Noshokaty finds out that hailing a cab may be just a phone call away
Standing out on a hot and dusty street hoping a taxi driver will deign to taking you on? Wish there was a way to always find a taxi free and waiting outside your door? Search no longer.
Cairo Governor Abdel-Rehim Shehata recently announced a new project aimed at alleviating the stress so many Cairenes encounter getting around the city by taxi: finding a taxi during peak hours, haggling over fares, fidgeting uncomfortably in an old and battered car. The project, set to launch next month, will provide a phone-in ordering service for taxis.
The new project -- a joint initiative with the General Syndicate for Land Transportation (GSLT) and several private sector companies -- is still being researched. Calling it a "major step," Sabri El-Geridi, secretary-general of the GSLT, likened the service to those found in major European cities, saying, "There would be more than one company involved to promote competition."
The idea is neither new to city officials -- nor, for that matter, taxi drivers. In Maadi, a taxi owner named Hagg Ali was operating a phone-in service more than 60 years ago. At Road 9, Maadi, right in front of the metro station, a sign on a small booth reads "Maadi Taxi Service." "My father, Hagg Ali, started this business in 1933," recalls Mahmoud Ali, who currently runs the establishment. "At that time, Maadi residents were either upper class Egyptians or foreigners. To cater to their needs, my father would wait by the phone, his car ready, and people would call him to make appointments," says Ali. Gradually the business prospered, and today Ali runs a service with 10 vehicles, all the drivers of which have mobile phones.
A private business like Ali's is one thing -- a Cairo-wide business is quite another. In spite of his success, Ali does not think the government's plan can work. "I think it would be useless for passengers living in Mohandessin to call a taxi to take them to Zamalek. It would take the cab at least half an hour to arrive -- why not just pop down to the street and look for a free taxi?"
Previous efforts by the government to offer a phone-in service for taxis were not particularly successful. Seventeen years ago, a project was implemented by the GSLT in collaboration with the General Traffic Administration. Taxis lined up at large traffic centres, like Tahrir Square and Doqqi Square, and telephone booths were set up to receive calls from people seeking a taxi. Launched on 1 February 1986, the project lasted only 14 months.
The GSLT's El-Geridi recalls: "Back then there were no car phones, only telephone booths. The project failed because of people's lack of awareness. They stole the phones from the booths. At the time, there were no mobiles phones."
Abdel-Tawab Mohamed, who has been working as a taxi driver for the past 30 years, remembers the defunct project. "In the 1980s, the project was targeting upper-class people who are willing to pay double the fare. The service was rated like a limousine and the driver's salary would be per drive," Mohamed said. But he noted that at the time, people who could afford it were more keen on buying their own cars and the demand for taxis was less.
No clunky taxi stations this time around, however. People who need a taxi will phone the company, which in turn will contact a taxi driver on his mobile phone, which is supplied by his employer. The fare will be standardised so that no arguments take place between passengers and drivers. The driver will come and pick you up wherever you are. Naturally, you pay for the luxury of a hassle-free service. Fares are expected to be double the going rate.
"I don't think it's a good idea," says Hanaa Naiem, a tax collector standing on Ramses Street looking for a cab. "I own a car but use taxis when going to crowded areas like downtown, where there are few parking places," she said. "But I think this project will be very costly. Besides, regular cabs are already roaming the streets and most of them are available." And with that, she popped into a waiting taxi and took off.
Taxi driver Mohamed, however, thinks that if the government promotes the service effectively, it could be successful. But he adds that it would still remain limited to a small number of Cairo's elite. He explained that most of his customers were low-income workers who could not afford to pay double the fair just for the luxury of door-to-door service. "They should not make this applicable to all taxis in the country," he stated, pointing out that for many people, taxis are essential as a fast and less crowded means of transportation than public bus or microbus.
Indeed, the project will target upper middle-class residential areas. The governorate has specified that only brand new cars -- 2000 or 2001 models only -- will be used. "No less than 500 brand new vehicles are to be included in this project," boasts El- Geridi, who insists that no old cars will be accepted. "If it proves a success, we aim to take this project nationwide."
For the time being, the first phase of the project will be implemented in Cairo's downtown areas, as well as in Abdin district and Zamalek. Though it is planned to extend throughout Greater Cairo, it has not been determined when the project will be expanded.
According to the local press, out of the 3 million cars buzzing around Cairo alone, 1.4 million are taxis. In August 1999 the number of taxis became fixed following a decision by the prime minister to stop issuing driving licence registrations for taxis in order to prevent overcrowding. "There is a rumour that they want to ban old cars like mine, but people are not living such prosperous lives that they can renew their cars when they like," said taxi driver Mohamed. He argued that his passengers do not really care how old his taxi is as long as it gets them from point A to point B at a reasonable cost.
The governorate announced this week that drivers will be encouraged to join the new service with a programme set up by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Nasser Bank that will offer interest-free loans to buy new cars. But how realistic is the incentive, when the least of a taxi driver's concerns is his longing for a new car? The average driver pays at least LE25 for gas daily and in many cases, drivers rent their cars at around LE75 per day.
"I have been working in this profession for eight years now and if I could, I would have left it," complains Adel Fathi. "Both the taxi drivers and the taxi owners are treated unjustly by the government," he groaned, noting that gas prices have increased disproportionately with taxi metre fares.
El-Geridi responds: "We aim to change the taxi tariff to reflect real life costs and prices in a manner agreeable to both parties -- driver and driven."
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