CAIRO: The constant gridlock that has become the emblem of Cairo’s streets has driven many to join the suburban sprawl. But while those migrating away from the city enjoy clean air and parking spaces, the larger part still commutes to the city everyday for work, school and other services.
Despite the increasing number of people moving out to the new communities developed in Sixth of October city and New Cairo, the old city is approaching an impasse with a total of 2,022,274 private cars recorded in December 2008, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
Whilst driving through the infamous bottleneck of 26th of July Mehwar, on his way from his house in Beverly Hills, residential compound in Sixth of October City, to his office in Lebanon Square, Hesham Abdel-Wahab couldn’t help but notice the scores of cars carrying only one passenger ­­­- the driver.
“We’re all on the same road from Sixth of October to Mohandiseen, so why don’t I have someone else with me in the car? he said. “It just makes sense.
It took one year, five friends and a web developer to put Abdel-Wahab’s frustration into a virtual tool “to facilitate the execution of a concept, bringing Egypt its first online carpooling community: Egypt Carpoolers.
The social network approach
Egypt Carpoolers made its debut on Oct. 12 through the popular social network Facebook, attracting 471 members in six days, with more than 100 new members each following day.
The idea of carpooling remains foreign to most Egyptians, and while it is common among college students to catch rides with their friends, the activity has been typically restricted to immediate friends and relatives.
“We had to think of ideas or features that provide people confidence, Abdel-Wahab, who is one of the five founders, told Daily News Egypt.
Egyptcarpoolers.com is an automated website that matches ride requests with ride offers according to the date of the ride, the driving route and the time specified, leaving a margin of one hour for both departure and return.
Completely free of charge, users have an option between recurrent or one-time rides.
The system is created in favor of those who truly want to carpool; automation ensures that your match will be totally independent of your age and gender, decreasing the probability of internet-junkies pursuing hidden intentions, according to the founders.
Ensuring security, Abdel-Wahab told Daily News Egypt, was the greatest challenge, which is one of the reasons why it took a whole year for the website to come together.
“You cannot see anyone’s [posted] rides. Only when the system automatically matches you to a ride will you be able to see each other’s info, and that is only after you manually accept the ride [that has been matched to your request], Abdel-Wahab explained, another feature that was put forth to ensure greater security for those still in doubt.
Members on the Facebook group have mixed views on how the idea of carpooling would pan out in Egypt.
“It could work out, but being realistic, it’s only advertised through the internet and the percentage of Egyptians accessing the internet is only 12 percent which is not big compared to all the people driving cars every day, said Laura Zunica, a resident of Cairo and a member of the Facebook group.
“I think it is a wonderful idea… I also think it is safe because the possibility of knowing someone who knows the person you are carpooling with is pretty high, said another member.
Egyptcarpoolers.com follows a similar concept to that of Facebook where users create personal accounts and are able to add people to their friends list.
Not only that, but if your ride is matched to someone you don’t know, by clicking on their profile you would be able to view your common friends, which can contribute to your decision of whether or not to accept the ride.
But as the case is with any new venture, both parties involved are eyeing difficulties down the road.
“People are excited about the idea but they are not using it. We need people to post rides because this is how the carpool will work, said Abdel-Wahab.
Similarly, according to May El-Haggar, another founder of Egypt Carpoolers, “You need a huge database for people to actually match. The more people post rides the higher the possibility of matching dates, times and destinations.
“We are betting on the younger generations; they are more courageous, added El-Haggar.
Nadia Maanani, a member of the group who is waiting for a match to a ride she requested, has a different concern.
“Like any goodwill gesture, people have to be committed to it for it to work. If drivers turn up late or don’t turn up at all, then people will be obliged to take an alternative transport, and the concept and aim of Egypt Carpoolers could be flushed down the toilet.
The Corporate approach
In the corporate world, Nerkab Sawa (Let s Ride Together), another carpooling initiative similar in concept but different in its approach, launched last March.
“Everyone has the idea in them. We do it with our neighbors all the time, but what about the person who does not have a neighbor [going to the same destination]. How can he find him? Yasser El-Zoghby, founder and current chairman of Nerkab Sawa, told Daily News Egypt.
On Nerkabsawa.com, users have access to all posted rides, each distinguished with a code number.
The matching is done manually. When you have identified a ride that matches your own, you are asked to call the company’s head office, who will identify your match by the code assigned to it.
Acting as a middleman, the company then calls your matched ride. If both parties accept the match, then the company provides them with each other’s contact information, details that are not included in the public list of rides and are only available to the company employees.
For every successful match, the company charges LE 75 collected from both the driver and the passenger.
On the website, users who are offering rides have a space for indicating the amount of money they wish to charge passengers. The company does not set a bracket for the prices requested; the agreement is left to both parties, the driver and the passenger(s).
“A lot of people own 2009 model cars, most of whom are still paying monthly installments, which creates a financial burden to the car owner, said El-Zoghby, pointing out the benefits of carpooling for the driver.
When asked about what spurred the idea of Nerkab Sawa, El-Zoghby cited the high dependency on non-renewable fuel and the projection that prices will soar.
“This project is first and foremost for the sake of the government, he said of his company which he legally registered in March 2009.
He explained that if the government normally pays a monthly LE 100 for every person as fuel subsidy, then if four people ride together, it will save the government LE 300 a month.
Both initiatives came after the government’s aggressive ‘Ehsebha Sah Te’sha Sah’ advertising campaign, which promoted lifestyle changes that include carpooling.
Stemming from different mindsets, and arguably catering to totally different target groups, both Egypt Carpoolers and Nerkab Sawa have materialized ideas that are much-needed to battle the immortal traffic problem in Egypt.
Both have expressed their hope for being endorsed by the government; whether or not this happens in the near future, a large portion of society can benefit a great deal for months to come.
