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October 6, 2021
Cairo Insights: Improving Mobility Using Bikeshare
By Caroline Mimano, ITDP Africa
Amid the global boom of bicycle sharing, the call for bicycle sharing systems in cities in Africa is gaining momentum. The unprecedented rate of urbanization and increased use of vehicles continued to exacerbate traffic congestion conditions in these developing cities. However, with the continent’s growing urban population, most of whom often walk or use public transport for their daily commutes, the potential for bike sharing is huge.
Cairo, Egypt, is one city that is at the forefront of the implementation of bicycle sharing systems. Greater Cairo is a crowded and wide metropolis known for its scary traffic jams. The municipal bundle consists of two districts, Cairo and Giza, and has a population of about 20 million. Lack of adequate fast transportation options and increased ownership of private cars have led to daily traffic congestion in the metropolis. Rising fuel prices across the country are pushing many passengers daily to explore alternative transportation options. Cairo is on track to implement its first bicycle system, with an initial fleet of 250 bicycles and a 6.4-square-kilometer coverage area covering Cairo city center, al-Sayda Zinab, Garden City and Al Atba.
To promote cycling as an alternative to safe and healthy transportation, the city is building 15 miles of physically separated bike paths. The investment in quality cycling infrastructure is expected to make a significant difference for cyclists in Cairo and ultimately contribute to the growth of a dynamic cycling culture. Better cycling trails increase the number of cyclists in the city and the number of cyclists for the bicycle sharing system. Bikeshare stations will be strategically established, close to metro stations, bus stops and public areas to ensure easy access and promote multi-modal options. Bicycle sharing has the potential to improve accessibility in central Cairo by creating first and last mile options that will expand the reach of metro and bus systems. About 500,000 passengers use the metro stations within the bicycle sharing coverage area. The Cairo Metro Network, operated by the National Tunnel Authority, stretches over 78 kilometers with three lines. The system carries about 4.1 million passengers a day and is reportedly the highest number of ascents per kilometer of any metro system in the world. Greater Cairo’s bus network has about 450 bus lines and numbered official minibuses, along with many informal microbus services. The largest operator, the Cairo Transportation Authority, operates a fleet of over 3,000 buses and 950 minibuses. Improving first- and last-mile accessibility for these passengers is expected to ease congestion and encourage more people to switch to more sustainable means of transportation, especially for shorter journeys. High directional movements, in which passengers depart from metro stations and ride in the morning to their destination and follow an inverted pattern in the evening, can lead to challenges in maintaining a uniform supply of platforms and cycles. The municipality plans to offer financial incentives to users to travel in the peak direction.
To encourage participation in the cycling system, the municipality will launch an intensive campaign focusing on the economic, environmental and physical benefits of cycling. Today, cultural barriers prevent many women from cycling in Cairo. The efficiency of public transport services imposes different burdens on women and men, with the costs of poor public transport often being borne disproportionately by women who are less likely to have personal means of transport, making them more dependent on public transport. Because women tend to chain travel, travel with merchandise or accompany relatives in a caregiver role, their mobility needs are different from those of men, who often travel to travel to work. By providing an additional accessible means of transportation, the Cairo bicycle sharing system has the potential to expand women’s public transportation options and make travel faster, thus saving time.
To explore how Cairo’s bicycle sharing system can better meet the needs of women, ITDP conducted a focus group with cyclists in Cairo in collaboration with UN-Habitat. The focus group found that women ride bicycles for leisure or fitness purposes and to make arrangements. However, many women avoid cycling due to lack of safe infrastructure and public physical and verbal harassment. To promote cycling among women, the municipality plans to offer discounts to cycling companies, hold educational cycling events and involve women in the decision-making process.
Unique challenges are expected in the bicycle sharing launch program. In many cities in Africa, vehicle users are not accustomed to sharing the road with non-motorized transport users, and sometimes motorized traffic factors invade a dedicated cycling infrastructure. Information campaigns and traffic police serving as road safety ambassadors will help vehicle drivers give a right of way to all non-motorized transportation users, including cyclists.