Cairo's Real Revolution

They said it couldn't be done. They said the Egyptian people were complacent and even lazy.

But the Egyptians proved their naysayers wrong. The Egyptians finally said, kifaya! Enough!

So, just one year after they pushed Mubarak off his throne, Egyptians built the third Cairo metro line.

The first stage of the "yellow" line opened last week, connecting Ataba to Abbasyyia and running through some very congested neighborhoods. Plans for later stages would extend the line in both directions, east to the airport and the new AUC campus and west to Zamalek, Imbaba and Mohandissen. Extensions are slated to come on line in a couple years, but this first stage was supposed to be completed at least ten years ago, so it's really anybody's guess.

Nonetheless, it's intriguing to imagine the possibilities of a transportation system to match greater Cairo's busy population of approximately 20 million. The two old lines run north-south and east-west, hitting some major neighborhoods but missing many more. The subsidized rate of one Egyptian pound (~15 cents) per ride is a great deal if the metro goes where you need to go. It's overcrowded, a good indicator of the need for expansion. Other public transportation (city buses and microbuses) take you wherever the metro doesn't at about the same price. But they're vulnerable to Cairo's notorious traffic, uncomfortable and unsafe.

There's clearly a need for more metro lines, but the question remains whether expansion will be affected (positively or negatively) by the political situation. While it might not make the sexiest slogan, it's certainly reasonable to suggest that an effective public transportation system is part of the demand for dignity and humane treatment that Egyptians are demanding from those in power.

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I tested out the new line last night with a friend, making a trip to a delicious Uighyri (~Chinese Muslim) restaurant in the student neighborhood of Drassa. Connecting to the new line at Ataba, we made the trip in half the time and a tenth of the cost of a taxi. While the connection at Ataba was long and a bit confusing, the new train and stations made up for the wait. Bright, clean and uncrowded, I felt like I was stepping into a Viennese U-bahn! The contrast was only sharpened on the return trip when we transferred back to the old line where the mass of people jolted me back to reality. I think I might ride the new line once a week to see how long it takes for people to discover its existence and integrate it fully into the Cairo metro system.

Inside one of the new cars