The Economic Burden of Cairo Traffic

We sit and bitch about traffic and how we hate our lives every single day, but we never take the time to actually find out how it affects us economically! In a country that’s population shows no signs of slowing down, with the need & desire for everyone to have their own car or means of transportation, Cairo’s streets just can’t handle the pressure anymore!

Put aside the annoyance that traffic creates, there is a real economic, environmental, and public health consequence according to the World Bank Group.

“A recent World Bank report, the Cairo Traffic Congestion Study estimated the annual costs of the congestion in Cairo to be up to EGP50 billion, or US$8.0 billion. That represents up to four percent of Egypt’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is four times the usual estimate of one percent of GDP as the cost of congestion in comparable large cities.

Direct costs include the loss of productivity due to sitting in traffic rather than working, the additional fuel consumed by extended travel times and the environmental impact of increased vehicle emissions. There are also indirect costs, such as the effect of the environmental degradation on public health.”

Yes Yes, we are a country that is on the brinks of being broke but, hey let’s not solve the traffic problem; screw those 8 billion dollars we so desperately need!

Now put that all aside and let’s not forget how deadly Egypt’s traffic and road accidents are. There isn’t one day that goes by in which i don’t see a catastrophic accident, be it a huge truck that has caused a 12 car pile up, a gas tank that took a wrong turn on the bridge and flew off, or pedestrians crossing in the wrong areas. Regardless what it is, time is wasted and lives are lost on Egypt’s roads daily!

Some reports state at least 1,000 cairenes (that means people in Cairo alone) die each year of traffic related accidents, most of them are pedestrians and 4,000 are injured on a yearly basis, leading to a huge rise in cases brought forward to law firms that specialise in personal injury, click here for an example.

What’s the solution you may ask? Well there have been efforts to address the problem, via expansion of public transportation and efforts to better manage the traffic flow.

There are too many cars not enough trains and buses, a tiny metro system for a city the size of Cairo, but much more crowded than other major cities.

Morsi’s government along with The World Bank have made it part of their key priority to make Cairo a more livable city.

We Said This: If you ask us we’re still skeptical