Couldn't agree more. That was a good read Dominic.
Thanks n Cheers, Feral Errol Get Serious tm<http://www.datrats.com.au/> -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Andrew Denniss Sent: Friday, July 11, 2003 7:29 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Long off topic Cairo taxis (Delete now) That was an intersting read dominic I thought some of our taxi drivers where bad enough. So it was a good place to see over in egypt?? Andrew ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dominic Votano" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Datsun Club" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "GtiR" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, July 11, 2003 3:15 PM Subject: Long off topic Cairo taxis (Delete now) > > > Old cars don't die they just go to Cairo and become taxis. In Egypt no car > could possible be too old or unreliable to be used as a taxi in Cairo. We > saw 1958 Fiat 1100s, 1961 Fiat 1500s Fiat 124 and 125s, Peugeot 504, Renault > 12, Datsun 120Y with the newest being a 1983 Nissan Pulsar. > > In Cairo all taxis are painted black with white lower front and rear guards. > Other provinces have different colours on their guards. All taxis are > seriously bumped and scratched from their "I shall never yield" attitude. To > be a taxi driver you need only have a four door vehicle (preferably > predented) paint it black and white (yes most do it at home with a brush) > and the most important item is a taxi meter. Of the 16 taxis used not one > had a working meter or speedo. Knowing how to drive or where anything is > located is not a prerequisite to driving a taxi. > > There is no set fee structure in a taxi. The passenger pays what he feels > the ride is worth. Locals told us that a trip downtown is worth no more than > 10 pounds. So we always jumped in a cab advised our destination and then > paid the fare that we believed was right. This never resulted in a problem > unless you have more than two people in the cab when they would expect a > higher payment. > > Should you wish to bargain a price upfront this immediately alerts the > driver that you do not know what a fair fare is and prices start at up to > 100 time the fee paid by a local or 10 times that of a tourist. Even when a > fare is agreed upon the driver will continue to bargain and renegotiate his > fare up from the price agreed until your ride is finished. This makes for a > most unpleasant trip through one of the most crowded cities in the world. > Our mind settled on a fare of 10 pounds for over 20 minutes and 5 pounds for > under 20 minutes. This made all our drivers very happy and no arguments were > entered into. > > The driving style is more art than rational. Whilst lanes are clearly marked > on the road they certainly bear no relationship to where cars drive or how > many cars can travel abreast on the roads. Pedestrian crossings are a > further decoration on the roads in Cairo. Crossing the road is something > infrequently done by pedestrians in Cairo and is reminiscent of the 80s game > of Frogger where a complex sequence of forward and reverse motions must be > engaged to safely cross a three lane road with five cars abreast. > > Pedestrian refuge islands are well named in Cairo. Where some of the more > timid pedestrians have set up home and raised families in waiting for a > driver to stop and allow them to cross the road. > > Traffic lights are simply not used, some are constantly flashing amber > whilst other work but are simply not obeyed by anyone. It is dangerous to > believe that a green light is a sign of a clear road. Cars do not even > hesitate for a red light but career through at break neck speed. Only Police > signals are obeyed and even then reluctantly. On many occasions we see > Policemen being literally pushed by cars who are in a hurry and prod the > policeman with the intimidating use of a horn or by pushing him physically > with the front of a taxi. > > The use of a horn is more an auditory expression of your mood and feelings > than anything else. It is not only used as a warning or to say hello or > goodbye but simply to let people know that your are in their suburb or in a > neighbouring suburb, or to tell them you are on their side of the road or on > the opposite side and often just checked randomly to see if it still > operates. > > Taxi Drivers would be the richest people in Egypt if they charged by the > beep rather than bargaining with tourists. Our tour guide tells us that he > one day took a cab to work as he does not believe it is safe to drive on > Cairo roads with a horn that does not work. This is quite believable as > Cairo drivers use a system of Braille driving and their sense of hearing to > place their car accurately into the Cairo traffic. > > Greater Cairo has a population of over 20 million and whilst traffic is > thick it is never stopped. In a three lane road there may be 4 cars across > ahead, but this doesn't concern the taxi driver. A few carefully placed > beeps of the horn and the driver careers his scrap metal into a space which > previously did not exist. > > It is rare to see any car in Cairo without at least 7 separate dents on each > body panel. The word Road Worthy has no Egyptian equivalent. Cars with > missing headlights, dented body work, even missing windows are a common > sight. During our tour we entered many a taxi that had no window winders or > door trims. A few had no internal handles and thus the door could only be > opened by reaching outside for the external handle. Every taxi had the Koran > carefully placed on the dashboard between the windscreen and the driver. > > Praying is apparently more apt than any driving skill in this high risk job. > Seat belts are generally non existent in the rear and not working in the > front. Despite a law requiring the use of seat belts no-one even does the > motions of putting them on. On a few occasions when Police (on every corner) > peer into the car, the driver would pull across the remains of his seat belt > and sit on one end. It was considered most uncool to actually put it on and > use it as a seat belt. Cairo taxis are definitely to be placed alongside > bungy jumping and skydiving whilst in the land of the pyramids. > > Dominic Votano > www.premierstrata.com.au > www.unitliving.info > Premier Strata > Ph 9630 7500 > Fx 9630 1915 > > > --membersozdat------------------------------------------------------- OZDAT Mailing List Please Note:- Send (un)subscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send submissions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] No unauthorised redistribution of this email http://www.ozdat.com/ozdatonline/index.htm http://www.ozdat.com/ozdatonline/listindex.html http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------
