Egypt’s Local Development Minister Mahmoud Shaarawy issued a circular letter to all governors on Saturday asking that restrictions be lifted for licensing tuk tuks (three-wheeled auto-rickshaws) and to organise their routes.

The statement comes amid rising congestion in major urban areas which is worsened by low capacity public transportation and paratransit.

The statement from the Local Development Ministry said that the letter instructed governors to estimate the total number of tuk tuks across each governorate, including the number of licensed up-to-date vehicles, and any reasons for delays in licensing.

According to a report by Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS),the number of relatively few licensed tuk tuks, which are allowed to operate only on side streets, reached 99,000 by 2016, up from 65,800 in 2014. 

Shaarawy also called on governors to create tuk tuk routes only in unplanned areas and between villages.

Lastly, the minister called on the governorates to provide the ministry with a half-monthly report in order to monitor what has been achieved in this regard.