CAIRO - Officials in Cairo should resist feelings of complacency after imposing a ban on the operation of tok-toks (nippy three-wheeler motorcycles) on the mega-city's streets. Their decision rightly reflects their concern over the disorderly proliferation of these rickshaws in recent years. Around 2 million tok-toks scuttle across Egypt, according to official figures. A large number of them operate without licences. They have been recently manipulated in many incidents of murder and rape. Following the collapse of the police establishment during the turmoil in the wake of the anti-Mubarak revolt, the drivers of tok-toks themselves have been targeted by robbers and other outlaws, according to local media reports. On several occasions, poor drivers have been slain while defending their ‘precious' mini-vehicles. Given the economic hardship and high rate of unemployment in Egypt, tok-toks have become a source of livelihood for many Egyptian families. Around 40 per cent of Egypt's 80 million population are believed to be living below the poverty line. “What does the Government want us to do?” protests Ahmed Salam, a tok-tok operator. “They refuse to license our tok-toks and every now and then the police arrest us for driving unlicensed vehicles,” says Salam, a father of four living in el-Waili in the Abbasiya district of eastern Cairo. “Preventing us from operating the tok-toks is like a death sentence for our families. Should we have to resort to thieving and thuggery to feed our families?” Accordingly, banning the tok-toks is neither the right or practical thing to do. They have become a feature of Egyptian life in crowded areas. The ban would be very unwise, given that many local people have come to rely on them for doing their errands. With all this in mind, our officials should be down to earth and humane. They have to come up with viable rules to regulate the operation of this mode of public transport. These regulations should ensure the tok-toks meet the concerned safety regulations and become officially accepted as part of the public transport system.
