Cairo, Nov 7 (Aswat Masriya) – Egypt’s ride-hailing services Uber and Careem are considering increasing their fares, while Ousta has already raised their fares in the wake of a surge in the prices of fuel.

The government announced on Thursday raising energy prices by 30-47 per cent, affecting the prices of 80 octane gasoline which increased to reach EGP 2.35 per litre instead of EGP 1.6, and 92 octane gasoline which increased to EGP 3.5 instead of 2.6 per litre, while diesel increased to EGP 2.35 per litre from EGP 1.8.

Meanwhile, natural gas used for vehicles increased to EGP 1.6 per cubic metre instead of only EGP 1.1.

Careem’s General manager in Egypt Hadeer Shalaby said that the company is yet to increase the fares for the riders, but had already raised the wages obtained by the drivers by around 10 per cent.

“The company will temporary incur the increase from its share so that the drivers wouldn't be negatively affected,” Shalaby told Aswat Masriya.  

The base fare for drivers now starts at EGP 3 instead of EGP 2. The drivers would also receive EGP 1.45 instead of EGP 1.4 in the rate per km, as well as EGP 23 for waiting for one hour, marking a 1 EGP increase from the previous rate. 

The starting fare of economy rides for Careem users is currently at EGP 5, with EGP 1.5 per km. 

Shalaby didn’t specify a date or rate for fare increases, saying they’re currently studying the impact of energy price increases on the prices of their services.

Uber Egypt is also assessing the current situation to “take necessary steps that would allow them to adapt to changes in the market”, according to general manager Anthony Khoury.

Khoury said that Uber drivers would temporarily receive a compensation of EGP 20 for every five trips, EGP 35 for 10 trips and EGP 50 for 15 trips.

“Uber will continue to provide a safe and reliable transportation and offer job opportunities,” Khoury told Aswat Masriya. 

Uber users currently pay EGP 3 as a starting fare and EGP 1.30 per km. 

Meanwhile, Ousta, an Egypt-based online taxi application, announced in a statement on Monday raising their fares in order to be able to “continue providing competitive services.” They however didn’t reveal their new fares.   

Taxi drivers have already revealed they’d call on the cabinet to raise the fare’s initial charge from EGP 3 to EGP 5, along with an increase in the rate per kilometer from EGP 1.4 to EGP 1.75. 

“Given that fueling up costs so much more now with the increase in the prices of octane and natural gas, we cannot continue with the current fares,” Salah Sedik, head of the White Taxi Drivers Coalition, told Aswat Masriya.

Egypt, scrambling to collect money as it faces a shortage in foreign currency, decided to raise energy prices few hours after floating the Egyptian pound in a bid to meet the criteria for a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.