Army buses to transport civilian commuters around Giza

In the face of mounting anger caused by the increase in prices, the Armed Forces dispatched military buses to transport civilians in Giza on Monday, state-owned MENA reported.

Defense Minister Sedky Sobhy ordered that Armed Forces buses transport passengers in the governorate from 6 am until 6 pm.

This comes in a bid to “alleviate citizens’ suffering and minimize the harm caused by some drivers’ exploitation of the price hikes by raising the fares,” MENA said.

In another move to alleviate economic burdens, Sobhy also ordered that army outlets decrease the prices of food commodities. 

Last Friday, the government announced that it will be implementing a broad restructuring of petroleum product subsidies.

The highest increases are in some of the most commonly used petroleum products, ones that will have a direct effect on the cost of transportation of food and goods as well as public transportation, namely diesel and 80-octane gasoline.

The price of diesel is now at LE1.80 per liter, a 64 percent increase from the previous price of LE1.10, while 80-octane gasoline rose to 1.60 pounds per liter, a 78 percent increase from LE0.90.

Bus and taxi drivers as well as passengers were angered by the decision, with drivers staging protests in different parts of the country.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Defense also allocated army buses to facilitate the transport of commuters and alleviate traffic congestion amid strikes by bus drivers and other employees of the Public Transport Authority (PTA).

However, the decision was seen as an attempt to thwart the strikes and ignore the protesters’ demands.