Thursday Night is Every Night

Getting from point A to point B in Cairo has become an exercise in wasting time. Traffic congestion now seems to be a fact of life in Cairo. It is one of the annoying things that all Cairo citizens have become aware and familiar with, whether they like it or not.

Through all hours of the day and into the night, and every day of the week, commuters are looking for excuses as to why all the roads and streets are busy and overcrowded with cars. "It's not Thursday today, is it?" one might ask oneself while they contemplate why they haven't moved a single meter during the last 45 minutes. "Is there an event happening around here somewhere?". Cairo citizens are left scratching their heads at the endless possibilities for this traffic jam. There is no straight answer, just another day in the life of Cairo and its streets.

Taxi drivers are usually the only ones who seem to know what is happening. Although their answers never really make sense, they are always willing to share their points of view. While everyone else is baffled by this new phenomenon, taxi drivers are willing to inform us why the streets are as busy as they are.

Ask a taxi driver "why at 1am on a school night the Sixth of October Bridge is overcrowded?" For sure you will get this answer: "all the vacationers are coming back from Alexandria tonight". Is it logical that they all somehow get together and decided as a group to return to Cairo all at once? For me, it is logical because all the Egyptian think the same way.

Ask if you ask "Its 6pm on a Wednesday, shouldn't everyone be home from work and school by now? Why is it so busy?" And the answer: "It's Wednesday night, and tomorrow's Thursday, that's why it is so busy". It's not a logical answer at all! But unfortunately, taxi drivers answer that way trying to convince us that they understand the whole situation.

We can't ignore the fact that, Cairo has become an awfully over populated city. We live in one of the most densely populated cities in the world, but this is not the only reason. I think, one of the factors may be the poor infrastructure, the poorly designed streets and roads. Most Cairo residents cannot find parking spaces beside their homes. Cairo streets have become concrete jungles where only the aggressive can survive.

So, what is the solution? For sure, I don't know, and it's not my job to know. I'm not an expert on city planning but by now I'm an expert on traffic decongestion.

All what I know is that as a citizen, safe and organized streets and roads are basic and integral aspects of the city in which I reside, they are the right of every citizen. How they are achieved and maintained are not my concern, it’s not my work. But they are someone’s work and that person must be responsible for doing such things.