Egypt's under-progress BRT to be substitution of planned 5th metro line

CAIRO – 10 May 2022: Minister of Transport told press Monday that the bus-rapid-transit (BRT), being introduced on Greater Cairo's Ring Road, is a substitution of the fifth metro line that was planned to get implemented after the fourth one is completed, as it would be extended in parallel to the road.

The ministry had announced in the end of 2021 that once the BRT enters service, microbuses will be banned from using the Ring Road. Now, Minister Wazir says that stations will be created for such private public transport vehicles below the road, which is basically a very long bridge. As such, passengers would be able to reach the BRT stations by riding in microbuses.

The minister highlighted that the BRT vehicles are being manufactured in Egypt by the factories of the Ministry of State for Military Production, Ghabbour, MAN, and Geyushi Motors.

Officials at the Ministry of Transportation told a European Investment Bank (EIB) delegation in March that the local production of BRT vehicles had begun, a press statement indicated.

The introduction of the BRT has been made possible through the ongoing expansion of the Ring Road connecting Greater Cairo together. That is because there will be seven lanes in each direction, so as one will be allocated to the BRT, while the rest will be used by passenger cars.

The ministry had announced in December that six BRT stations will be established on the Ring Road's major intersections, given that microbuses, which park randomly on the side for passengers to get on and off, will be banned from using the road to reduce crowdedness.