With the curfew and the social and political turbulence taking place in Egypt in the last two weeks, one segment of society has been particularly affected: taxi drivers. With the curfew limiting their work hours and the alternating authorities questioning them at every turn, they have had to resort to novel solutions to win an extra buck.
“It is my first day of work today; I have decided to stay home since this thing erupted,” says one 50-year-old taxi driver on the thirteenth day of the revolution. He starts his day around 7 AM and ends it at around 4 or 5 PM. “We barely make LE20 a day now, it’s been tough,” he adds.
Working after the curfew seems impossible for many taxi drivers, who see it as a calculated risk, especially those who have been staying at home since 25 January. “It is hard to find a taxi who knows the way, as most of them have been staying home and don’t know the new routes to take,” says a young journalist.
For those who work after the curfew, the situation is a different.
“There are many people who need a cab after the curfew all around Cairo but especially in Tahrir,” says Ahmed, a taxi driver in his late twenties. “I went home last night at 11 PM after several army checkpoints stopped me to interrogate me.”
The young man admits that after staying home for ten days, he forgot the roads and calls a colleague constantly to learn the shortcuts to avoid blocked areas. When asked about police patrol, he answered, "It ' over–they lost their authority over us.”
“We usually make around LE30 a day after paying the owner of the car and buying fuel, which is LE20 less that a normal day before the revolution,” says the young man as he is stuck in traffic.
Anther cab driver had resorted to phone calls from his usual clients.
“I stay home or at the coffee house until I get a phone call from a client who needs a ride,” says Sayed, who has worked as a cabdriver for three months. According to him, it is pointless with all the turbulence and the checkpoints to wonder around the city looking for a fare. He adds that he tries to avoid the congested areas of the city, like Tahrir Square, Qasr al-Nil Bridge and Qasr al-Aini Street.
None of the taxi drivers interviewed objected to taking foreign passengers or journalists. “We have to show the hospitality of the Egyptian people,” says one driver.
