Taxi Cabs

When I first came to Cairo about a year ago, these black-and-white taxis were the only taxis cabs available. Some were so old and used up that they barely ran. Often they broke down en route. I have been in cabs that got flat tires, overheated, broke some major engine component and stopped abruptly. When that happens you just get out, pay a few pounds for the distance you did travel and hail another cab. Most of the old cabs were very inefficient and spewed out whatever it is that cars spew out. None of them had meters, or if they did ther meters did not work. The avrage cab fare for a short trip was 5LE. You had to negotiate the fare for a longer ride--say to downtown, Zamalek or Giza. None had air conditioning. Most were rickety.

Recently the government offered cab owners the opportunity to turn in their old cabs for new cabs at a very reasonable pay back rate. The old black and white could be used as a down payment and a 5 year pay-back schedule set up. Owners had a choice of 5 different manufacturers, Lada, Puegot, Kia, Hyundi, Daewoo.


Now we see more and more of these new whites on the road. They are clean, efficient, and have meters that actually work. It turns out that they are cheaper than the old black and whites. So the newer, black and whites still on the road have had to adjust what they charge. Everyday more and more of the new whites, as they are now affectionately called, show up, really giving the older cars a run for their money. They are equipped to run on compressed natural gas so they are not as polluting to the environment, AND they are air conditioned!

Many of us prefer the new whites and pass up the older taxis for these newer ones.