Cairo travellers faced price rises of as much as 30% for tickets on the city’s metro on Thursday after the public transport operator hiked charges in response to a fuel price hike last week.
Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels, which has overall responsibility for managing Greater Cairo’s public rail transport system, raised metro prices by more than 30% to 8 Egyptian pounds ($0.16) for shorter trips and by 25% for longer trips to 15 pounds, local media and users said.
Egypt last Thursday raised the prices of fuel products by up to 15%, its second increase since the International Monetary Fund expanded its loan program by $5 billion in March, in an agreement where the country pledged to rationalise spending, including by lifting fuel subsidies.
The government often defends raising metro ticket prices by citing billions of pounds of losses on the network and increasing operational costs. But investment in ambitious infrastructure projects is also a major cost.
The country’s annual budget shows that the authority relies heavily on local and external borrowing, amounting to more than 176 billion Egyptian pounds in fiscal year 2024/25, to fund several transportation mega projects, including the world’s longest monorail line.
The IMF on Monday announced the completion of a review allowing Egypt to withdraw $820 million, stating that efforts to restore macroeconomic stability were beginning to bear fruit but urged further progress in curbing public investment and the dominance of state-owned enterprises.