Egyptian transport service provider Mwasalat Misr announced on Wednesday the launch of Cairo's first electric public bus on a new route between downtown's main Abdel-Moneim Riyad Square and New Cairo.

 

The 44-seat bus, dubbed X-bus, started operating this new line last week with an express service that only stops at four main bus stations along its route, Ahmed El-Naaqa, the maintenance and operation engineer of the X-bus, told Ahram Online.

 

The bus was first operated in December for a three-month trial period and was initially planned to run on the same route, but was instead operated on a shorter route in 6 October City for free, according to Al-Naaqa.

 

The ticket price for the bus, which is equipped to serve people with special needs, is EGP 25, while the price for the company's smart card holders is EGP 18.

 

The air-conditioned bus runs two trips in each direction at 7:30am and 10:30am from downtown's Abdel-Moneim Riyad Station, and at 9am and 2:30pm from New Cairo’s Lotus Station.

 

The buses are designed to "preserve the environment and do not cause pollution resulting from the use traditional fuels," and are equipped with Wi-Fi. They also have an electronic payment system that enables passengers to obtain a ticket from a machine aboard the bus.