Transport Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Ibrahim denied the increase of metro fares to LE10 as circulated by some media outlets.
"An increase by any means could never reach LE10," he said in a phone interview on al-Asema channel Wednesday evening.
"The Transport Ministry will strike with an iron fist at anyone who wants to disrupt the trains," he said, adding that recent train delays were deliberate.
Ibrahim pointed out that the subsidized metro ticket costs the state LE10, but will never be sold to the public at that price.
Transport Minister Saad el-Geyoushi was quoted as saying on Tuesday that tickets for the third line of Cairo’s metro will increase from LE1 to LE10 for full journeys from its starting and ending stops.
Egypt already has two old operative lines, with the third line partially finished. It plans to finish three extra lines by 2030. Construction for the fourth stage of the third line began last April.
According to the minister, one subway line costs “both the state and citizens” nearly LE48 billion. He said ticket prices will always be connected with operation costs, “yet cheaper than other private sector transportations,” as he put it.
Earlier reports about possible increases to metro ticket prices caused a public stir as the transportation system is an indispensable means of traveling across Cairo.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
