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yellow cabs take on black-and-whites
by amena bakr
after years of coughing, sputtering false starts, cairo’s
ambitious capital taxi program is finally off the ground. during
the first weeks since they hit the streets, the gleaming yellow
capital taxi cabs – though still a relatively rare sight –
have garnered considerable attention amid the capital’s hordes
of black-and-white taxis.
the new cabs, available by phone, at designated pick-up points or
simply by flagging down a passing vehicle, boast clean interiors,
air conditioning and working meters – features that set them
apart from cairo’s old, battered fleet of black-and-white taxis.
moreover, the yellow cabs’ drivers have undergone training
on how to deal with customers. most speak fluent english.
“one of the main objectives was to create a better image of
the taxi... that gives egypt a more modernized and professional
look,” says ahmed nabil, general manager of instant car rentals,
better known as city cab, one of three companies spearheading the
program.
the capital taxi program was drafted back in 2000, but was repeatedly
delayed beyond its originally scheduled late-2004 launch date. one
reason, says nabil, is the heavy capital outlay involved.
to break into the market, each bidding company had to come up with
an initial £e 52 million to cover the cost of 500 fully-equipped
late-model sedans, complete with dispatch equipment and paid licenses.
of 43 companies that purchased the bid specifications for the 16
authorized operator slots, only three – city cab, cairo cab
and cairo international taxi – actually placed bids, all of
which were accepted.
nagui yassa, ceo of cairo radio cab & limousine, also known
as cairo cab, suggests initial interest was low because few investors
were willing to sink such heavy capital in an unproven market. the
governorates involved stand to make much more from the £e
2,250 per-taxi fee if the program’s success stirs up more interest
in the remaining slots.
the first phase of the capital taxi program began in mid-march with
the three licensed companies rolling out their initial fleets of
50 cars each: hyundai elantras, volkswagen paratis, kia ceratos
and chevrolet optras – all of which have won the requisite
government approval. the raincoat-yellow vehicles congregate at
30 designated pickup points in cairo and giza, collecting passengers
as they come. they can also be flagged down like regular cabs. wireless
communication capabilities will be added in the coming months, allowing
people to phone a call center that dispatches the nearest cab to
pick them up.
during the second phase, slated to begin this summer, 200 cars will
be added to each company’s fleet.
yet according to nabil, the public’s “very positive”
early feedback has encouraged the three companies to push up the
date. “with this kind of project you never know what’s
going to happen next,” he says. “we end up changing our
plan nearly every day... it all depends on the public’s response.”
for now, at least, the three companies are coordinating their strategies
to a high degree in the effort to penetrate the market. they have
no set areas of operation, and apart from separate pickup points,
little sets them apart from one another. still, the potential for
future tensions is obvious. “at this point, many people assume
that the [yellow] cabs are just one company,” says yassa. “this
puts our reputation in danger when [another] company doesn’t
do its job well.” in the future, he expects that customers
will develop a knowledge of the differences between the companies,
and hail their rides from the one that provides the best service.
by year’s end, there may be as many as 1,500 yellow cabs cruising
cairo for fares or responding to customers’ centrally-routed
telephone calls for service. while the companies set up hotline
facilities three months ago, both companies are waiting until they
have enough vehicles to make dispatch service viable. “i want
to provide customers with good service, so the hotline will only
start working when we have 200 cars [in operation],” nabil
says.
eager customers have been calling the companies’ regular office
phone, and a few have even tracked down the managers’ private
mobile numbers and attempted to place orders. the circumstances
have prompted the companies to hasten plans to activate their hotlines.
as of press time, cairo cab was in the process of launching a dispatch
service that allows its central office to contact drivers directly
using a voice global packet radio service (gprs), thus allowing
operators to direct the nearest taxi to a customer’s location.
the company has also submitted a request for a global position system
(gps) license, which would allow the tracking of vehicle positions
on an electronic map, but, according to yassa, the government has
said it will be difficult to require due to “security concerns.”
while the cost of the new taxi service may be a disadvantage –
at least on shorter trips – the yellow cabs have considerable
advantages over their black-and-white counterparts. for starters,
their working digital meters – which produce receipts and will
soon accept credit cards – will spare customers the annoyance
of bickering with the driver about the fare. the companies also
guarantee service in a late-model, air-conditioned car with a 1,600cc
or larger engine and drivers who speak fluent english and are trained
to treat customers with respect. that means the radio stays off,
unless the customer requests otherwise.
capital taxi drivers are not permitted to ask people their destination
before they enter the vehicle – a ploy black-and-white drivers
use to suss out who will pay the most for a trip. they are also
forbidden from taking on additional passengers once the vehicle
is occupied – a rule monitored by sensors located under the
car seats. if a new passenger enters the car while the meter is
running, the sensor signals a microchip inside the meter that alerts
the company of the violation. “this very advanced meter acts
like a mini black box, giving us a daily report of the taxi’s
activity,” explains nabil.
but nothing is more effective than the customer feedback, insists
yassa. “if anything goes wrong, we are counting on the customer
to defend his right and place a complaint with us so that we can
solve the problem immediately.” all complaints will be handled
appropriately, he says, adding that any driver caught misbehaving
or underperforming will be fired.
the response, so far, has been overwhelmingly positive, insists
yassa, who says the only real complaint has been the existing 150
cars is not enough to meet the high demand. “so far, 99 percent
of customers are happy,” he says. “the remaining 1 percent
are just upset when they don’t find cars available.”
the yellow cabs are expected to be a magnet not only to tourists
– especially the more independent arab tourists who tend to
patronize taxis – but also to safety-conscious egyptian customers.
“i get a lot of calls from parents asking when the taxi will
be available by phone so that they can have their children taken
to school,” says nabil.
likewise, driving instructor hossam el din mostafa, 29, says he
feels more secure about sending his wife out in a taxi with the
knowledge that the company has a record of each driver and will
hold them accountable for their conduct. “before, it was more
risky for women to take cabs because they might get harassed. but
now i feel it’s much safer,” he said.
yassa insists the new service is not a panacea for the capital’s
transportation problems, nor will the yellow cabs entirely fill
the role of the capital’s 80,000 black-and-whites. capital
taxi’s primary role, he says, is to target tourists and middle
or upper class egyptians seeking an alternative to the existing
public transportation options. in other countries, he explains,
“a taxi is known as a special service used by a limited number
of people, not by the entire population like we have here... we
are working to change people’s understanding of the taxi.”
the program is expected to create 5,100 jobs by the end of the year.
for the first time, women will see the inside of taxis from behind
the wheel; the companies plan to hire women to pilot a third of
the vehicles in their fleets. “i believe that female drivers
will make more women passengers feel safe on their trips,”
says nabil.
previous government attempts to initiate a phone-in taxi service
have been unsuccessful. in 1986, a project implemented by the general
syndicate for land transportation and the general traffic administration
involved taxis lined up at major traffic points, where nearby telephone
booths had been set up for drivers to receive calls from customers.
the project lasted only 14 months, falling victim to a lack of public
awareness and rampant theft of the phones.
the project suffered from the widespread perception that it was
exclusively an upper-class affair. this time around, organizers
are stressing that the taxis are meant for a market wider than just
the elite. “we’ve made the taxis drive through the streets
so the public feels that they are part of their daily lives, not
just a service for tourists,” nabil says.
other initiatives similar to the capital taxi program are already
under way, and appear to be succeeding. a private company called
fast touristic transport, better known as fast call, launched a
call-in limousine service in alexandria on february 28. although
the company runs only 35 vehicles at rates about 10 percent higher
than standard taxi fares, its operations manager, islam kassem,
says the project has proven very successful. “people are always
on the lookout for a good service. that’s why we are thinking
of expanding in the coming months,” he told business monthly,
adding that the company plans to double its fleet in the coming
months to keep up with demand.
another service, cairo blue cab, has been providing call-in limousine
service in cairo for the past two years. unlike the yellow capital
taxi vehicles, blue cab’s 10 sedans, which run about 30 percent
more than the standard fares on short trips, aim to be inconspicuous,
a plus for customers who wish to keep a low profile. blue cab employees
were unavailable for comment at press time.
nabil believes the three companies participating in the capital
taxi program will succeed because their service fills a lucrative
niche in the market. “our service is one of a kind, and this
is encouraging us to expand and increase our investment,” he
says.
not surprisingly, stalwarts of the traditional black-and-white cabs
are scoffing. “in egypt all the customer cares about is price:
the cheaper the better. so this whole capital taxi project will
meet its doom very soon,” predicts ahmed zaher, 48, the driver
of a venerable fiat 128 black-and-white cab.
yet a few drivers seem alarmed by the new competition. “these
capital taxi cabs are stealing away the customers that pay us best,
like tourists,”complains driver zaki abdel aziz. “but
i don’t think they’ll have any effect on the majority
of our customers who can’t afford their prices.”
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fare game
there’s no denying that capital taxi cabs – which
have precise digital meters – are more expensive than
black-and-whites for short trips, charging £e 3.50 just
to take a seat and £e 1 for each kilometer. the trip
from mohandiseen to garden city – a short hop that would
cost £e 5 in a black-and-white, runs about £e
7.50 in a yellow cab. on longer errands, however, the balance
shifts. a trip from tahrir square to the airport that would
normally cost about £e 30-35 in a black-and-white runs
customers just £e 22 with the new yellow cabs, with
a waiting rate of £e 5 per hour.
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