\u201cHow can drivers be asked to give up their tuk-tuks and move to a new vehicle when they have not finished paying for the first one?\u201d Ali asks.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
He says some drivers bought on instalments at prices exceeding EGP 250,000. For them, another financed purchase would add a burden to an existing debt.<\/p>\n
Ali argues that tuk-tuks fill a genuine gap in public transport, particularly for older residents and people living in narrow alleys that larger vehicles struggle to reach. He favours licensing and regulation rather than a ban.<\/p>\n
His proposals include driving licences, drug testing and criminal-record checks to prevent unqualified drivers, especially children, from operating vehicles and to identify stolen tuk-tuks. He says many drivers complied with district identification-number schemes, but those numbers were no substitute for formal licensing.<\/p>\n
He also reports vehicles being impounded when drivers enter main roads, sometimes for one or two months before owners recover them after paying fines. In his view, the solution is to address unsafe practices rather than remove a source of employment.<\/p>\n
Mohamed Nasr El-Din, a driver in his thirties working between Cairo and Giza, also favours licensing. He says he and other drivers already hold traffic licences, while he remains unconvinced that repair centres and spare parts for the alternative are sufficiently available.<\/p>\n
Nasr El-Din begins work at about 6am and often continues until 11pm to meet household expenses and vehicle instalments. At the time of the interview, he had roughly eight months of payments remaining.<\/p>\n
He worries that replacement plans could undermine thousands of families\u2019 main source of income. Drivers already carrying substantial instalments, he argues, cannot easily take on new financing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is an entire sector behind tuk-tuks: electricians, mechanics and sellers of spare parts, tyres and oil,\u201d he tells Zawia3. He believes a ban would affect workers far beyond the drivers themselves.<\/p>\n
He also describes repeated stops, threats of fines or vehicle seizure and demands for bribes in some cases. These are his allegations. He says drivers lack adequate social-insurance protection even while paying recurring fees.<\/p>\n
Nasr El-Din does not oppose the introduction of another vehicle. He opposes the possibility that it could eventually be imposed, arguing that poor practices and weak enforcement should be tackled through regulation and choice.<\/p>\n
![\"Regional](\"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/tuk-tuk-licensed-en.png\")
<\/figure>\n