The Egyptian capital celebrates launching the country’s first bike sharing system which will be in force in July.
Dubbed as “Cairo Bike,” this national venture aims to encourage people to use bicycles to reduce harmful emissions in the densely populated governorate, whose population reached 21 million this year.
Bike sharing system is the technology of placing bikes at stations across the city that enables its residents and passengers to rent bikes from place A and then leave the bike in place B. It is a proven system to encourage the use of non-motorized transportation.
The project is installing 500 bikes at 45 stops in two phases. The first phase will start in July with 250 bikes. The next phase will be implemented by the end of this year.
It came in line with Egypt’s preparations to host the UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP27), which will be held at the Red Sea’s Sharm El-Sheikh this November.
The Cairo Bike project is implemented by Cairo Governorate in co-partnership with the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT), Swiss non-profit Drosos Foundation, which has been active in Egypt since 2005, the US Institute for Transport and Development Policy (ITDP) and other local entities.
Mohamed Samy, founder of Go Bike, a partner in the project, told Majalla that the project is the first of its kind in Egypt and in the Middle East. It was a result of long years and stages of study and the selection of locations in cooperation with the above-mentioned partners.
He added that the project includes 45 stations divided into two phases, the first, during which 250 bicycles are used, and then the same amount in the second phase due at the end of the year.
Samy went on to say that there may be other stages which will cover more districts, but it depends on the funding. “Through the data and information we will obtain after this trial run, improvements will be made in the later stages,” he added.
According to Samy, the system enables anyone to ride a bike from one station to another through a smart application available on iPhone and Android phones with a prepaid card system.
The bikes are fitted with a GPS in order to track the bike and prevent its theft, and the system can calculate the time and distance traveled by the bike.
“Bicycle stations work alongside solar energy to achieve sustainability as it is an eco-friendly project. They are also equipped with air internet to support mobile application services and electronic payment services for the cost of cycling.
"In cooperation with the Interior Ministry, the stations will be monitored by cameras to reduce theft, damage and loss of bikes.”
THE BEGINNING
Samy, also an engineer, said about his Go Bike initiative that its story began in 2011. When he was working in Cyprus and many European countries, he noticed most people depended on bicycles whether for shopping, or going to school or to a job.
“I am encouraged to revive this culture again among Egyptians who used it in the golden old age before the number of inhabitants boomed. We see this in our 1950s and 60s black-and-white films that Egyptian streets are empty except for female and male bikers and some cars,” he recalled.
When he came back, he told his friends about the idea of encouraging people to use bikes again. But their feedback frustrated him for a while.
“Some of my friends were not convinced, claiming that the Egyptian streets have no space even for pedestrians. And they wondered, ‘Can cyclists find a way?’” he said.
Samy insisted on fulfilling his dream, and after six months he formed a group who believed in his vision. The team toured streets to spread the idea. They invited people to join them on Friday events when they roamed streets and visited antiquities places in Cairo agreed beforehand on their Facebook page. People joined them either with their own bikes or hired from them at affordable prices. The number of people increased over time.
“According to people's feedback, we established a cycling academy in Heliopolis in 2013, in which there are female and male trainers, as some women prefer to be trained by a woman.
“We share with them advice about the suitable bicycle for them according to their age, weight, the purpose of using it and the road they use the bike in,” Samy added.
He pointed out that the initial stage of the current bike sharing system was begun in 2017, when he launched a project called Sekketak Khadra (Your Road is Green) in cooperation between Cairo Governorate, United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN Habitat), and funded by the Danish Embassy in Cairo.
The project aimed at upgrading the infrastructure for bicycles and so we installed racks in front of shopping malls, schools and metro stations,” he said.
“Before this project, people parked their bikes by tying them to lamp posts or to trees, which was not safe,” he added, pointing out that Sekketak Khadra was an important step to spread the culture of riding bikes with the help of the state represented by the Cairo Governorate.
UPGRADING INFRASTRUCTURE
Egypt is witnessing improvement of roads such as the current project of establishing promenades on several segments of the Nile Corniche called Mamsha Ahl Masr (The Walk of the People of Egypt). It enables people to gain better access to the waterfront, recreational open spaces, and provides an accessible getaway from high levels of pollution in the air.
Egypt also has been working on a project to develop Khedivial Cairo (downtown Cairo) to restore it to its previous magnificent era as one of the most important and largest heritage cities in the world. Dubbed as “Paris of the East,” downtown Cairo was established by Khedive Ismail in 1863 and was influenced by French architecture. The development process includes allocating a number of streets for pedestrians only.
Since taking power in 2014, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has appeared cycling on many occasions. He encouraged Egyptians to ride bicycles, exercise and walk more. He also sponsored the initiative of "Your Bike Your Health" which is carried out by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to provide bikes at reduced prices.
“These efforts make Egypt right on track in protecting the environment and promoting eco-friendly projects,” he said.
