Rami Kato, the Head of Careem Egypt Operation said that after the increase in fuel prices, the service cost bore by Captains increased. “It was necessary to move quickly as not to have them bear this cost alone by balancing the cost and benefit so that they will keep working, while, at the same time, the service must remain affordable to clients, in addition to being safe and comfortable,” he added. Kato stressed that this is the equation the company is constantly trying to solve to guarantee a good service.
He said that they tried to achieve this equation, when, last week, they cancelled the extra cost during peak time to relieve the customer while paying the difference themselves to the captains.
As for the strategy, he said that they have a goal to cover the entire country over several phases. “Our latest investment in Swvl aimed to help us reach this goal. Through this investment, we were able to provide a convenient and secure transportation at a lower cost, allowing us to reach the largest number of users,” he explained.
Careem, the transportation app, raised the prices of its services to cope with the fuel price hikes. According to the company, the minimum tariff on the Go service is set at EGP 5.5 while the price per km is set to EGP 2.21 and waiting time to EGP 46 per hour. The minimum trip will cost EGP 12, up from EGP 10.
Previously, the Go Plus service’s prices were EGP 4.75 to start a trip, EGP 1.81 per km, and EGP 33 for an hour of waiting.
The prices also increased to EGP 7.5 for starting a trip, EGP 2.61 per km, EGP 48 for an hour of waiting, and a minimum cost of trip of EGP 16.
The new prices were hiked from EGP 6.26 to start a trip, while the price per km was at EGP 2.2.
The government decided to increase the price of fuel at the end of June, where the price of a litre of gasoline 92 rose to EGP 5 up from EGP 3.5. The price of gasoline 80 and diesel fuel both increased from EGP 2.35 to EGP 3.65. The price of one litre of gas for cars was lifted from EGP 1.6 to EGP 2. Moreover, the price of gasoline 95 increased from EGP 6.25 to EGP 6.6, while LNG cylinders increased to EGP 30 up from EGP 15.
