CAIRO - Overcrowding, traffic jams, pollution and noise are a constant part of life in Egypt's capital Cairo. Main and other streets are often completely blocked; they are used as open-air car parks by 3 million vehicles, while flyovers and tunnels bring no relief. A recent study conducted by the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA) stated that the number of daily commuters would increase from 22 million to 32 million by the year 2022, indicating that the traffic and transport network would not be able to cope. The speed of vehicles wouldn't exceed 11km/h on average and traffic grind to a halt during the rush hour. Congestion has spread into other governorates; concerted efforts by all governmental sectors to solve the problem should be a priority. The alarming situation has also a negative impact on the national economy. Khaled Salah, 28, a civil servant, has to commute for 45 minutes, although the trip would normally only take 15 minutes. ” It is almost impossible to be on time and more often than not I'm late," Salah complained. Ali Fahmi, an employee at the Ministry of Manpower, agreed with Salah. He said that once he was at home after work he would be too tired to go out again, unless there really was an urgent reason. He was also worried about his children's education; they would often be late for school or even miss their exams. People waited forever for their bus that was stuck in the traffic. He added that even those who could afford a taxi were not luckier. Mohamed Imam from the Faculty of Urban Planning at Cairo University told the Freedom and Justice newspaper, the mouth piece of the eponymous political party, that the population density in Cairo was ten times over the acceptable limit. The reason was that many properties earmarked for residential purposes were used as offices and for commercial activities. Shopping centres, although built at the periphery, created an additional amount of traffic. Osama Okeil, a professor of road and traffic engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, explained that there were other reasons that led to traffic congestion in Cairo's streets, including inadequate road planning, the lack of pedestrian crossings and street sellers blocking the pavements. 45 per cent of Egypt's hospital beds, 92 per cent of banks, 95 per cent of embassies and consulates and 55 per cent of private sector jobs are located in the conurbation of Cairo. It is therefore no surprise that the capital is the focal point for a large number of citizens. Inadequate public transport, the huge number of micro buses, auto rickshaws (tuk tuk), three-wheeled motor bikes and other unconventional vehicles exacerbate the traffic problem. Okeil noted there would be some relief if the barracks of the armed forces were moved into less populated areas. It would also help if planning permissions and licences were given less generously within the capital; incentives should be offered to those who were prepared to build further away. According to Dr Hashem Bahari, a psychiatrist at Al-Azhar University, being regularly exposed to traffic jams causes tension and violence and affects the general behaviour. Endless waiting puts commuters under great psychological pressure and having to inhale the polluted air causes a variety of illnesses.
