Egypt bans tuk-tuks as transport

An Egyptian driver arrives in his rickshaw, also known as ‘tuk-tuk’, to a taxi stop to wait for passengers in the capital Cairo, on 16 September 2019 [MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP/Getty Images]

The Egyptian government has decided to ban the import of tuk-tuks following a government initiative to replace them with safer means of transportation, Egyptian media reported on Friday.

Minister of Industry and Commerce Niveen Al-Qubbaj shared that tuk-tuks will be replaced with natural gas-powered minivans nationwide.

In 2019, the Egyptian government ordered Egyptian factories producing parts for tuk-tuks to stop producing them.

Government Spokesperson Nader Saad explained that the tuk-tuks would be collected by the government and crushed in order not to be reused.

He also said that tuk-tuk owners would be given minivans and pay the price difference with soft loans.

There are around 2.5 million tuk-tuks used as transportation across Egypt, and according to Egyptian reports, only 10 per cent hold licenses.

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