The Egyptian governorate in collaboration with UN-Habitat has launched the "CAIRO BIKE" project to encourage and promote the use of bicycles as an alternative means of transportation.
Once the project will be run, the first phase of CAIRO BIKE will include 250 bicycles distributed across 26 stations, according to a statement released by UN-Habitat this week.
The statement noted that Cairo citizens will be allowed to rent a bike for EGP 1/hour and EGP 8 for the whole day through a mobile application or with prepaid cards. All bikes are fitted with a GPS tracker.
The Cairo Bike Project was initiated and funded by the Swiss Drosos Foundation, with the aim to reduce harmful gas emissions.
The first phase includes five stops for the pilot operation at Tahrir, Mohamed Farid, and Abdel-Moneim Riyad Squares, in addition to El-Falaki and Abdel-Khaleq Tharwat Streets in Downtown Cairo.
In the same connection, the Governor of Cairo Abdel-Aal said revealed that the new project depends on the presence of a large network of points where bikes are available for public use through the mobile application, adding that the stations will be available in Garden City, Zamalek, and Downtown as a start.
According to a comprehensive study by experts of the UN, bikes can be parked in one of the many covered and uncovered short-term bike parking spaces around universities and administrative buildings or in garages. There will be also several bike lockers in villages, that provide space to store the citizens’ bikes and scooters.
"We have supported the Egyptian authorities to establish several bike pathways in Fayoum province and inform the public and youth about how can bikes improve community health and take action on climate change through a previous program called “Green Way”, a UN official said.
It's worth mentioning that this ambitious green project was launched ahead of the 27th UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP27) that will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh this November. It is also the first bike-sharing system to be implemented by the government in Egypt.
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