Cairo is among the most polluted and crowded capitals in the world. A couple of factors contributing to the problem seem uncontrollable in the short-term, particularly when it comes to population explosion and the concentration of economic activities and development to Cairo. Other factors, however, are directly linked to the deterioration of the Egyptian state and its incapacity of proper planning; consider for instance the urban sprawl and mushrooming shanty towns, as well as the corruption of the government which leads to buildings springing up in areas without proper consideration of space. Hence, the capacity of many districts is exceeded by far. In addition, we’re also seeing a lack of investment in economical housing in Cairo’s desert belt. There is an element related to cultural attitudes here, attitudes that assign a disproportionate social status to car ownership. The attitude is augmented by the government’s mismanagement of the rickety public transportation networks.
Mongolia, a country in the low-middle income category, offers an eye-opener for a radical solution to the traffic congestion problem, as was pointed out by the freelance automotive markets expert Matt Gasnier, with whom I had the pleasure of working on a fuel economy project. In Mongolia there are no import taxes on hybrid cars (cars which work on a mix of battery-powered electric motor and an internal combustion engine). Also, until the last decade, prohibitive taxes in Denmark kept a firm check on the growth of the number of automobiles on the streets. This, of course, is coupled with a large and efficient bus network that runs on time. However, Denmark should only serve as a hint for the sort of impact government policies could have on the number of cars on the streets since the Scandinavian conditions – e.g. good governance, certain cultural norms – are significantly different from those in Egypt.
The fuel savings of hybrid cars can range from 20%-70%. The highest sales of passenger cars in Egypt were for Chevrolet Lanus and Aveo, Hyundai Verna, Elentra and Accent, Kia Cerato and Carens. None of these fare well on fuel savings compared to more sophisticated and expensive cars. Meanwhile the cheapest hybrid, Toyota Pirus, can cost around $20,000.
An intervention from the government with a policy package can make Cairo a less polluted and crowded place. Exorbitant taxes on non-hybrid cars and minimal taxation on hybrid cars can reduce the number of cars considerably as the cheapest hybrid is still more expensive than the average car running on the streets of Cairo. And the measure should be coupled with a limit on car licensing for a period of 7 years.
Another part of the package would include eliminating cheap credit for car purchases. It would be much wiser if credit resources were geared towards supporting productive small and medium enterprises. The savings from subsidized fuel consumption can be used to invest in more efficient and modern bus networks in Cairo, while car access to congested areas would be restricted to residents’ cars and buses. The bus network should be extended to access points in the shanty towns to connect them to Cairo proper in order to phase out the heavily polluting and unruly micro-buses, which run amok in the streets of Cairo, clearly immune to police scrutiny due to their shady connections with corrupt police officers.
