The Taxi Drivers and Owners Association intends to submit an official letter to the cabinet, seeking to increase the tariff for the white taxi from EGP 1.4 per kilometre to EGP 2, and a set fare to start at EGP 6 instead of EGP 3, on the back of the government's decision to increase fuel prices. Head of the association, Mahmoud Abdel Hamid, said that they had already submitted a request to raise the tariff before the fuel prices increased. He noted that only the government can impose a tariff increase. He explained that the increase should reach 50%, as petroleum products increased by the same value. In general, Abdel Hamid said that the tariff should be increased annually, as all goods and products see similar increases. According to the Ministry of Petroleum, the price of 80-octane gasoline was raised from EGP 1.6 to EGP 2.35 per litre (a 46.8% increase) while 92-octane gasoline went from EGP 2.6 to EGP 3.5—a surge of 34.6%. The price of diesel also increased from EGP 1.8 to EGP 2.35, with an increase of 30.5%, while natural gas was raised by 45.5% to EGP 1.6 per cubic metre instead of EGP 1.1.
