Careem launches minibus service in Egypt

Careem, the region’s leading ride-hailing app has launched “Careem Bus”, to help solving daily transportation struggle of 40 percent of Egyptians.

The company is launching the new “on demand” through four pilot lines covering a number of major zones in the capital such as the city center, Maadi, 6th of October and the fifth settlement.

Careem Bus offers affordable, cheaper, safe, and good quality buses as part of the company’s strategy to provide sustainable alternative transportation facilities to the Egyptian masses.

Hadeer Shalaby, Careem Bus Director said “Customers now expect the same high-tech experience across all products and services they engage with, why shouldn’t taking a bus be as seamless as ride hailing a car? Research conducted by Careem revealed 40 percent of the Egypt population is not being adequately served by a transportation service that suits their needs and the situation is getting worse.”

“Careem Bus will reshape mass transportation, allowing customers to enjoy the benefits of our tech as well as reducing traffic in cities as mass shared-mobility could lead to a 70 percent reduction in the number of vehicles and CO2 emissions” Shalaby added.

“Careem is investing $100 million in this service, in addition to acquiring “Commute”, an Indian Mass Transport app, which proved success in mass transportation service in the Indian market, and we have redesigned the application and developed the technology used in it, after a thorough study of the needs of the Egyptian market in order to offer proper solutions to transportation sector and make people’s lives easier.” Shalaby stated

Shalaby highlighted the company’s intention to support this service by offering more lines and increasing the number of buses on all lines, with plans to expand in the service to include more cities within months.

Shalaby highlighted Careem Bus keenness on providing the best quality and safety standards in this service by providing training for the Captains of the buses on how to deal with customers, in addition to assessing the condition of the fleet to avoid breakdowns, as well as providing full insurance on all rides. Careem will also use telematics to monitor the speed of the buses as well as the quality of the captain’s driving, with the ability of customers to communicate with “Care” customer service line.

Careem’s CEO and co-founder Mudassir Sheikha added, “The launch of Careem Bus means that transport options and mobility has just improved for millions of people, as well as decreasing congestion and pollution in the city. Cairo is just the start. Careem’s move into mass transportation will have a huge and positive impact across the region.”

Greater Cairo, now a megalopolis, is home to 22.9 million people and is projected to contain 40 million by 2050. A report from the World Bank estimates the annual costs of the congestion in Cairo to be up to $8 billion with around 50 hours per person every month spent in traffic and 60 percent of trips only having one passenger per vehicle.