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TUK TUKS POUND ON CITY GATES
BY ALEX HESS
Maneuverable and cheap to operate, tuk tuks are
proving a formidable foe to the traditional taxi or courier car.
In the seven years since they first arrived in Egypt, the small
three-wheeled vehicles, best described as a cross between a rickshaw
and a scooter, have spread across the country like wildfire. Already
they dominate the roads of towns and villages throughout the Delta
and Upper Egypt. Now they are pounding on the gates of Cairo and
Alexandria.
City traffic authorities, who have raised safety concerns about
the vehicles, have repelled the flood. So far. While Cairo’s
Imbaba district and Ameriya on the outskirts of Alexandria swarm
with tuk tuks, few drivers dare to enter the city limits. The risks
are simply too great.
Ahmed Assem, spokesman for Cairo Traffic, explains that tuk tuks
may only be licensed for personal use by drivers over the age of
18. Unlicensed or underaged drivers are liable to fines of up to
LE 500 and/or three months’ imprisonment, while the penalty
for those caught using the vehicles for commercial purposes, such
as taxis or courier cars, is a LE 1,500 fine and the threat of vehicle
impoundment. “Tuk tuks are imported to Egypt for personal
use only, just like motorcycles,” says Assem. “Some
factories do some modifications to the tuk tuks so that they can
be used as transport [for hire], but this is against the law, and
traffic and security authorities... are taking the necessary measures
to stop this.”
While in practice authorities tend to turn a blind eye in the countryside,
tuk tuk drivers who attempt to sell rides inside Cairo or Alexandria
city limits are slapped with steep fines. One tuk tuk driver that
Business Monthly spoke to said drivers are forced to pay a LE 1,500
fine if caught operating as taxis inside Cairo, though he said he
was unaware of any tuk tuks being impounded for the infraction.
However, dozens of impounded tuk tuks in a Giza Traffic lot on the
Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road suggest otherwise.
Tuk tuks hail from Asia, where for decades they have been a mainstay
of public transport. In recent years, they have spread to Africa,
South America and, more recently, the UK. The compact three-wheeled
vehicles, which get about 40 kilometers per liter, have enough room
for a driver and up to three passengers – making them a favorite
for use as taxis. By comparison, an early 1980s Lada 2101 sedan,
a model used frequently as a taxi in Cairo, gets roughly 10 kilometers
per liter and carries up to four passengers.
On the downside, the noisy vehicles are notorious polluters, though
that is beginning to change. Most older tuk tuks use a two-stroke
engine, which is cheaper than its larger four-stroke cousin, but
pumps out significantly more noxious fumes. Recently, however, tuk
tuks equipped with four-stroke engines that run on clean-burning
compressed natural gas (CNG) were introduced to the Asian market.
In July, a company in the UK began offering CNG tuk tuk taxi services
in the seaside town of Brighton and Hove. Although in order to be
licensed the company was required to install seatbelts and reinforce
the sides of the vehicles, their acceptance in the highly regulated
UK debunks the common perception of the tuk tuk as an unavoidably
rickety and filthy vehicle.
India’s Bajaj Auto, one of the world’s largest tuk tuk
producers, is the dominant player in the Egyptian market. Smaller
Chinese-made Bashan tuk tuks have also entered the market as well
as a handful of other brands imported directly by individuals, though
in very small numbers.
Cairo Individual Transport Industries (CITI), a joint venture between
local automotive giant Ghabbour Group and a group of private investors,
is the sole licensed importer and distributor of Bajaj vehicles
in Egypt. So far this year, CITI has imported 15,000 Bajaj tuk tuks,
all with four-stroke engines and catalytic converters to reduce
emissions, a source at the company told Business Monthly. The vehicles
are imported as completely knocked down (CKD) kits and assembled
at a factory in Sixth of October City. They are then distributed
to dealerships or directly to consumers through one of about 30
CITI-owned shops.
CITI and Bajaj are currently in discussions about manufacturing
tuk tuks in Egypt, avoiding the 40-percent import duty on imported
vehicles.
Local production could reduce prices, while an expected change to
traffic law that would legalize the use of tuk tuks as taxis in
all areas except Cairo could increase demand. This would in turn
allow CITI to scale up its operations including, possibly, the importation
of low-emission CNG tuk tuks, the source added.
For would-be taxi drivers, tuk tuks require relatively little capital
up front and – barring fines or impoundment – hold the
promise of good returns. A second-hand Fiat taxi sedan, one of the
cheapest taxi vehicles on the market, goes for about LE 25,000.
Drivers who own their vehicles can expect to clear LE 100 on a good
day after fuel costs.
Four-stroke Bajaj tuk tuks retail for between LE 15,800 and LE 18,000
including extras such as a radio. Meanwhile, department store Omar
Effendi is selling a Bashan tuk tuk at its Mohandiseen branch for
LE 9,800. Tuk tuk drivers, who charge LE 1-2 for short trips, claim
to make between LE 50 and LE 80 per day in profit – up to
four times as much as the average school teacher.
Emad, a tuk tuk driver in his early 20s, claims he makes about LE
50 per day driving passengers around Hawamdeya, a town 20 kilometers
south of Cairo. He explains that his father purchased a tuk tuk
for him, which he has been operating as a taxi. His plan is to work
two years to save for a dowry and furnish a flat so that he can
get married. “This work is beautiful,” he says.
Yet the drivers of Cairo’s estimated 80,000 black-and-white
cabs say the oversized golf carts pose little threat to their business,
even if allowed to take fares inside the city. “Tuk tuks are
just [scooters],” says taxi driver Mohamed Said. “Taxis
are bigger and can go farther. It’s an entirely different
thing.”
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