Other relevant subjects include the following:

• Achieving strategic transport integration on the national level.
• Methods of financing transport projects and services.
• Advancing the legal framework of passengers and goods land transport as well as Nile River transport.

The passenger land transport paper focuses on present conditions of this kind of transport on the national level, the agencies which are responsible for it, the problems that face it and the suggestions by the members of the party to kindle transport services in this regard. The suggestions include: licencing the management a passenger land transport projects and considering the government the only body, which grants this license according to certain regulations. The proposals also included the financial restructuring of government-owned utilities that offer passenger land transport services with the aim of meeting increasing demand over this kind of service.

The goods land transportation paper focuses on means of invigorating the institutional structure of this service depending on a study of the present conditions of this kind of transport. The paper also focuses on the vision of the NDP about ways of stepping up goods land transport in a way that responds positively to internal trade needs. The road safety paper aims at rousing safety standards for citizens, road and transport users. The objective here is to reduce road accidents and their negative impacts and protect citizens' lives in the light of the principles of the NDP, which stress citizens' right for a secure life.

The Nile River transportation paper aims to invigorate this service technically in a way that makes it up to a growing goods' and passengers' movement in the light of government plans in this regard. This stems from the belief that the modernization of Nile River transport achieves the national goal of reducing the pressure on demand for land transport.

The paper on strategic transport integration on the national level focuses on the vision of both the party and the government in this regard and the mechanisms according to which all kinds of transport operate. It aims at forging more coordination among these types of transport with the aim of realizing national goals in this regard.

Taking into account that transport projects are costly, the NDP has dedicated a whole paper focusing on ways of financing these projects.

The paper focuses on problems of inadequate funding, which is one of the obstacles on the way of good transport. The paper also tackles the present situation of the funding of transport projects and their management. The vision of the NDP and the government about how the necessary funding for transport projects can be attained and management is also included in the paper.

According to the studies the party conducted in cooperation with the government, there is a need for freshening the legal framework regulating transport either for passengers or goods.

Because public land transport is essential particularly between cities the NDP has given it priority for the role it plays in the life of citizens.

Passengers are transferred by land through a network of roads and railways. Around 60 million passengers are transferred nationwide a day by land. Land transport utilities that belong to the government account for 17 per cent of the overall land transport utilities in Egypt. At the same time, the private sector contributes to this in the form of buses, private cars, taxis and microbuses. Privates sector contribution account for 83 per cent.

• Government bodies
  Government bodies contribute to carrying around 48 per cent of all passengers between the governorates as follows:
  • Railways
    The Egyptian National Railway Authority transfers around 43 per cent of passengers between the governorates.
  • Bus companies for Passenger transport
    Four bus companies, which belong to the Public Enterprise Sector, transfer passengers between the governorates. Besides, the Arab Federation Company for land Transport transfers around 5 per cent of passengers between governorates.

• The Private sector
  The private sector transfers around 52 per cent of the passengers between the governorates as follows:
  • Taxis
    Taxis transfer an increasing number of passengers between the governorates carrying around 40 per cent of the passengers at the present moment.

  • Passenger transport cooperatives Inside each governorate there is a cooperative for the transport of passengers. Some of them transfer passengers between the governorates. Some other companies take care of the terminals and services.

  • Companies and factories
    A big number of companies and factories take care of transferring their workers. Cooperatives, companies and factories transfer around 12 per cent of the passengers between the governorates.

• Transport inside Greater Cairo
  • Government bodies
    Government bodies transfer around 46 per cent of passengers inside governorates as follows:
    The General Authority for Transport and the Greater Cairo Bus The General Authority for Transport and the Greater Cairo Buss Company contribute to giving transport services to around 30 per cent of passengers.

  • Underground
    The Underground carries around 16 per cent of the passengers through its first and second lines in Greater Cairo.

  • Private sector
    Private sector transport, buses and microbuses, transfers around 37 per cent of passengers in Greater Cairo.

  • Private cars
    Private cars give transport to around 17 per cent of passengers.

• Transport inside Alexandria and its suburbs
  • Government transport
    The General Authority for Transport and the Abu Qir Rail, give carry around 15 per cent of the passengers inside Alexandria. The private sector gives transport services to around 85 per cent of the passengers inside Alexandria.

• Transport inside governorates and the bodies responsible for it Government bodies
  Local transport offers services inside governorates to the tune of I per cent only.
  • Private sector:
    Various types of private transport carry around 84 per cent of passengers inside governorates. At the same time, taxis and buses usually exist inside the capitals of governorates.

Neither is it managed safely in the absence of some rules to regulate its work. This can be demonstrated through the way passengers are treated in this type of transport let alone its accidents.

Following are the challenges facing passenger transport generally on the national level

• Transport vehicles are getting old. That makes it difficult for repair processes to happen for these vehicles to keep going.
• A budget deficit inside the organizations running this transport in addition to a dearth of qualified personnel renders funding structures of these ineffective.

Private sector and disorganized private transportation An increasing presence of disorganized transport has created a number of negative effects including:

• A continual increase in the number of Service Cars that operate in a disorganized unsafe and technically faulty manner.
• Traffic jams inside cities and governorates have become a frequent occurrence.

1. The Ministry of Transport will be responsible for sketching out general policies.

2. The Ministry of Transport will be responsible for granting licences authorizing private bodies to be involved in passenger transport. This license should be linked to driving licences or commercial activity licences.

3. Licences would be granted in the light of certain technical regulations and conditions. In this the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Local Development would cooperage with each other. One of the conditions should be that passenger transport licences be granted only through companies, cooperatives or any other legally established body for this end. One other of the conditions would be for those who involve in passenger transport to be given a grace period to be able to polish the services they offer.

4. Restructuring the government bodies that offer passenger transport services financially in a way that heralds a financial balance and financial self-reliance.

5. Encouraging the General Authority for Transport in Cairo and Alexandria and transport companies to establish joint transport companies together with the private sector to transfer passengers in certain provinces. Other players should not be allowed to present transport services in these areas.

6. Reconsidering the laws regulating passenger land transport, improving them and framing new ones. Law No 55 for the year 1975 must be amended for it to cope with the party's and the government's vision for improving this service.

7. Upgrading taxi service
   The condition of taxis in cities particularly the capitals of governorates is unbecoming of these places any more. This service is no longer up to the increasing flow of tourists, who include businessmen as well. Thorough studies about means of improving taxi services have been conducted. The NDP would work in tandem with the government to put the results of these studies into action in order to spruce up taxis in Cairo, Alexandria and the other governorates.

Prelude

Railways received increasing attention from the various governments of Egypt over the various phases for the important role they played at times of peace and war. The government has been keen on modernizing the railways providing the necessary investments. This attention started since the year 1981 with the aim of making railways to cope up with modern operational methods. This opened the way for a real breakthrough in railway transportation in Egypt.

The underground is seen as one of the biggest projects that have taken place in Egypt. Egypt is the first African and Middle Eastern country to have an underground. The underground is actually the first stone in the project for modernizing transport in Egypt not only at the present time but also in the future as the fruits of the underground would be reaped by future generations as well.

Though the authority is financially, yet this independence is not complete as its revenues are not enough for the job. At the same time, the authority is overloaded with debts.

Problems that face the Egyptian Railway Authority and the Metro Operation Authority and solutions

• A low standard operation affects safety standards negatively due to the fact that the authority faces many difficulties including:
  1. Excessive dependence on importation of locomotives and other operation equipment makes the supply of these things vulnerable to fluctuation due to unstable reserves of foreign currency, let alone the continual increase in the price of these imported articles.
     
  2. The need for big annual investments for the maintenance of the railway network.
     
  3. An absent concept of comprehensive maintenance creates problems. The authority should adopt the concept of preventive maintenance.

• Budget deficits happen due to the following reasons:
  1. Having a social dimension, rail fares remained stable for long periods of time while the expenditure of the authority was spiralling up year after another. At the same time the cost of transport of strategic goods like supply commodities and petroleum remained low.
     
  2. Some railway lines, such as those, which served national projects, proved not lucrative. At the same time the authority shouldered the expenditure relating to province trains which account for around 62 per cent of operation costs while revenues from them account for 20 per cent only of overall revenues.
     
  3. The presence of too many workers at the authority. In March 2002 the number of the workers there reached 69563. At the same time the monthly payments these workers get swallow around 63 per cent of the revenues of the authority.

• There is a need of internal reorganization at the authority

• Some safety measures are still needed in order for safe operation to take place in the two existing underground lines.
  
• Overcrowding because of the presence of few trains especially over the first line. Hence the need for purchasing new trains.

Improving the operation technically through the following:

• Renewing railway infrastructure and making available needed investments in this regard.

• Doing preventing and regular maintenance and activating the role of railways workshops with the aim of increasing operational qualifications.

  * Administration reform
  The following must be done:

  • Reconsidering the organizational structure of the authority in the light of present and future work needs. At the same time workers' skills must be sharpened with the aim of increasing production.

• Using advanced mechanisms for evaluation.

• Kindling modern management systems as well as market mechanisms and commercial mindsets.

  * Providing necessary investments
  Striking a financial balance between the activities of the authority is of utmost importance. That is way concerted efforts must be made with the aim of achieving this goal.
  The government and the authority can take some measures each to reach that goal including the following:

  • The Railway Authority
    • Full exploitation of the fleet and the network of the authority. Adequate feasible studies must be conducted with the aim of seeing whether any expansion would be economically and technically viable.
      
    • Restructuring the lines to increase safety on them in a way that does not impact the operation cost or the quality of the service provided.
      
    • The authority should seek to establish joint companies with companies that can bring in modern technologies for the new entities to offer some of the services the authority offered previously.
      
    • The authority should seek to establish joint management companies with specialized companies to improve the technical performance of the authority's workshops.
      
    • The assets of the authority should be exploited in investment and commercial projects with the aim of bumping up revenues.

  • The government
    • Increasing the funds earmarked for the authority and then considering the equipment bought with these funds part of the assets of the authority.
      
    • The authority would be responsible for managing national investments while the government would be responsible for footing the bill so that the authority would not be crippled with debt interests in this regard.
      
    • Reconsidering the accumulated debts of the authority so that these debts are paid by the government not the authority.
      
    • The government should provide the authority with the necessary funds for renewing and improving present network services. These funds can be part of the debts of the authority later.

  The Party and the government would make detailed study of the most useful of the aforementioned solutions for the best interest of the authority on the one hand and the general treasury on the other.

1. There is an urgent need for the establishment of the third metro line given the fact that this line would connect the east of Greater Cairo with its west. The first two lines link the north of Cairo with the south. A scenario where the third metro line is not existent foretells of major traffic jams in Cairo in the near future as the first two lines were made to carry 3.7 million passengers a day only.

   This passenger capacity would not be enough to carry an expected number of passengers of 8.7 million a day by the year 2022.

   The third metro line is important for the following reasons:

   • Meeting increasing demand for it in the areas where it is supposed to be established.
     
   • The third metro line would rid downtown Cairo of around 2 million journeys a day.
     
   • Reducing the pressure on the first two metro lines in a way that would improve the quality of the metro services let alone the presence of an economic aspect in the establishment of the third line.
     
   • The third line would lead to social and environment gains as pollution and noise would be reduced remarkably.

   The government will decide on the best funding mechanisms for this project.

2. Funding necessary for maintenance on the first metro line must be provided with the aim of securing continued quality services on this line.

3. The establishment of a network of railways to connect new urban communities with Greater Cairo through quick and safe electricity propelled transport with the aim of encouraging people to live in these new urban communities is necessary. This would reduce overcrowding on the road network not to mention benefits to the environment.

Transport of goods in Egypt takes place through a network of roads, railways, water passages and pipeline networks. Transport of goods happens through a number of means including trucks, trains and water vessels.

The private sector is the main player in this area through the roads as its share of carried goods accounts for 95 per cent. The remaining 5 per cent of the goods are carried by railways and Public Enterprise Sector companies.

The following table indicates the share of each means of transport in the period between 1992 and 2002:

Types of transported articles:

The following table indicates the quantity of each transported article in 2002 and expected figures for the year 2012:

• The vehicles consist of 743,000 trucks. Most of these trucks are not equipped to carry containers in spite of the presence of an increasing number of containers being carried from ports to various areas in Egypt. Neither are these trucks qualified for carrying goods like agricultural products.

• An increase in the number of trailers to 52000 poses grave dangers to safety and roads.

• Loads are usually not proportionate with technical codes of most roads, which affects infrastructure negatively.

• Trucks, whether they belong to the Public Enterprise Sector or the private sector, are getting too old.

• The presence of many ministries and bodies endowed with the responsibility of carrying goods on the roads. Law No 64 for the year 1970 regulates road transport. This law no longer suits the changes that emerged since the seventies in this field.

• The Ministry of Transport must be the only body responsible for shaping the norms regulating transport of goods land.

• The Ministry of Transport must be responsible for granting licences that authorize people to work in this activity. Licences would be granted to companies and cooperatives only. A grace period would be given these companies and cooperatives to improve the services they offer.

• There must be a distinction between the licence authorizing people to work in the transport of goods and driving licences. But both must be linked together.

• The Ministry of Transport must frame goods transport integration policies. These policies must also open the door to a balance between the interests of the owners of the carried goods and the people responsible for delivering these goods to their destinations.

• Establishing storage and goods distribution points nationwide.

• Dedicating empty areas on the borders of the various governorates to receive the carried goods and then send them to their destinations inside a given governorate by small trucks.

Road accidents are a big affliction even on the international level. In Egypt the problem is getting worse. It has even become an issue of national concern. Hence the need for the concerted efforts of all the concerned authorities and the efforts of all the institutions of society as well.

Organization Report.

The following Ministry of the Interior statistics of the year 2003 indicate the enormity of the problem in Egypt:

• Total number of accidents: 29111

• Deaths: 6766

• Injuries: 29658

• Total damage: 16820

The urgent plan depends on two main elements:

• For it to be applicable as soon as it is endorsed.
• For it to be put into action without crippling the government with yet more financial burdens.

• Activating laws and decisions regulating traffic.
• Administrative measures to secure road safety commitments.

a- A broad media campaign aiming at the following:

• Shedding light on the enormity of the problem, its consequences and the human and material losses that impact the national economy negatively.
• Reducing road accidents.
• Spreading traffic awareness.
• Lobbying for better traffic manners on the part of citizens.

b- Traffic commitment can be achieved through the following steps:

• Full application of the Traffic Law through the following:
  • Traffic regulations' commitment in the capitals of governorates in general.
  • Applying maximum punishment in Traffic Law No 66 for the year 1973.
  • Boosting the supervisory capabilities of the Ministry of the Interior.
• The urgent plan would be put into effect on some roads in way of experimentation. An evaluation of this would be made later estimating the positive and negative aspects in it.

To reduce road accidents the NDP and the government suggest the following:

a- Proposed measures to overcome the problem on the part of drivers Local and international studies show that the human element in road accidents, the driver of the vehicle in this case, is the most important element deciding the rate and enormity of the accidents.

Hence the need for pouring more attention on ways of teaching car driving. Then professional driving licences can be granted. At the same time the Traffic Law must be activated particularly when there is a case of repeated mistakes on the part of drivers. The most important suggestions in this regard are:

1. Establishing more specialized schools to give driving lessons to those who want to get a private driving licence or those who want to get a professional one.

2. Reconsidering the current system through which people renew their driving licences or sketch out a new one. A primary driving licence can be granted persons who are over 18 years old. An evaluation of the performance of these people can be done later to determine whether they deserve a permanent licence.

3. Reconsidering the system through which individuals get a professional driving licence applying the following measures:
   • A person who wants to get a driving licence must be a high school graduate.

   • Those who currently have driving licences should be referred to training centers for them to get enough training before their licences are renewed the next time.

1. An evaluation of the vehicle to show that it is fit for moving on the road
   Framing a new system for examining the technical condition of vehicles. The examination must take place at specialized centers to ensure whether the vehicle can work well. Random examinations on roads must also take place to ensure that vehicles are fit.

2. Tightening supervision over spare parts in the local markets and the local spare parts industry especially in relation to trucks and buses.

3. Reconsidering passenger and goods transport licencing periods.

1. Defining the medical condition applicants for a professional or a private driving licence should meet.

2. Subjecting public transport and the transport of goods drivers to a medical checkup to see whether they have diseases that can influence their performance.

3. Strictly monitoring the issuance of medical certificates that are one of the documents for a licence application.

1. Traffic safety measures must be taken into account when determining road codes in the future.

2. Activating the role of the Traffic Engineering Administration in all governorates, cities and provinces in drawing up road safety criteria and supervising their application.

3. Continual maintenance of the roads with the aim of increasing their safety.

The Nile River had been an essential transport route between the north and the south of Egypt for too long. Nile River transport had been of paramount importance until the late sixties. The fleet was in good condition while the state shouldered the cost of operation. The state itself also determined the price for the transport of goods as there was not any competition with other transport whether by rail or by land.

With the emergence of land transport the time factor became an important element in determining whether goods would be carried by land or water. Therefore Nile River transport began to be eclipsed.

• The presence of infrastructure -the River Nile and its branches- that does not burden state budget compared with infrastructure needed in rails or roads.

• Low operation cost of Nile River units as the average fuel consumed by Nile River units is half the amount other transport consumes. This gives an economic aspect to Nile River transport let alone the environmental dimension of it.

• Nile River transport is fit for carrying low-value products and equipment with untraditional lengths.

• Small attention has been give to upgrading the watercourse during the last years, which led to its deterioration.

• Dearth of investments for Nile River infrastructure projects.

• Nile River transport companies' ships are getting old making them impotent. Professional standards as far as the personnel of these companies are concerned are dipping. All this scarred people away from dealing with these companies.

To upgrade Nile River transport the following measures must be taken:

• A strong commitment to putting the plan for enhancing the watercourse and Nile harbours into action.

• Founding strong private sector and public sector Nile River transport companies would advance transport systems. But this makes it necessary for the government to provide the required incentives to lure the private sector to get involved in the Nile River transport field. A concession for operating some Nile harbours can be given the private sector.

• Founding Nile harbours management companies.

• Harbours and Nile points must be linked with other transport.

The nature of transport in Egypt makes it fall under the mandate of many ministries and government bodies, which led to:

• Contradictory projects.

• Imbalance between offer and demand for transport services.

• Varied technical standards in the projects, which fall under the mandate of the different government bodies.

• No commitment to putting safety rules and quality measures into effect.

Targeted integration can take many forms including the following:

• Integration on the levels of planning, application and management in transport

• Integration in transport services

• Integration among the government, the Public Enterprise Sector and the Private sector in transport services

• Legislative and organizational integration among ministries and bodies that offer transport services.

1. Underlining the importance of the government's role in planning and supervision.

2. Devising transport strategic policies on the national level to meet present and future demands.

3. Planning transport projects on the national level centrally and locally and prioritizing the projects to open the door for transport strategic integration.

4. Involving the private sector more in operating, managing and funding transport projects.

5. Giving more attention to pricing issues. A social dimension must be taken into account.

Transport projects are infrastructure projects that need huge investments for upgrading and maintenance. They represent an important part of any state's assets.

Given the fact that the investments needed for transport projects are huge and scarce at the same time, funding of these projects has become one of the biggest challenges. A scarcity in funds has resulted in a situation when transport services always lack upgrading.

There is an urgent need for drawing up funding methods that prop the amounts of money the government allocates in this respect. Applying international models in this regard is important.

Current situation of funding and managing transport services in Egypt

The private sector is still unable to take part in the execution of infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, ports and airports effectively.

Accordingly, the NDP and the government feel the need for augmenting the following precepts:

• Given economic alterations worldwide, governments alone can not be left to shoulder the burden of financing infrastructure projects solely.

• The government can not expect the private sector to stretch a hand out in help in financing transport infrastructure projects in the foreseeable future. Yet for the government to be the only player in this field may not be enough to execute all transport projects.

• True transport infrastructure is costly. But transport projects can be profitable. That is why this field can attract many investments.

  Hence the need for ways to prod the private sector to partner with the government in the management of transport infrastructure projects.

  The merits inherent in the participation of the private sector in funding, operating and managing transport projects:

  • Bridging the gaps in government funding.

  • Other partners would shoulder the burden of funding some projects reducing the pressure on the state budget.

  • Transfer of modern technology.

  • Achieving considerable social and political goals compared with total privatization.

  • Improving the transport services offered the citizens.

  • Applying modern management systems.

  • A tools for structural reform in public transport institutions. Reasons why the private sector does not participate in this field

  • The presence of a low financial return from some of the projects let alone the presence of many operational risks.

  • The presence of too many bodies regulating the participation of the private sector and also the presence of too many administrative procedures.

  • Some of the current legislation does not suit current economic trends in the field of liberalizing transport services.

  • Overcoming the aforementioned obstacles is not impossible. Yet measures that encourage the private sector to take part in funding and operating transport projects must be taken.

  • A blanket theory can not be applied as far as the participation of the private sector is concerned. Measures that suit one particular project may not suit another. At the same time, the capabilities of the state on the one hand and those of the private sector on the other can not be ignored. Success achieved by the government in managing one transport project may not be repeated by the private sector in the same project.

  • The NDP and the government put faith in that invigorating local transport equipment industry would reflect positively on the ability to fund transport projects. The government has already taken steps on the way of encouraging the local transport equipment industry.

    However, stable policies and definite programs are required.

  • Market economies and free markets have created a new reality.

    However, this would not change the government's mind towards the low-income brackets. But, they have changed the tools available for the government for reaching that goal.

    According to the economic paper the 8th general conference of the party endorsed in September 2002 the government is going to define the social segments that deserve subsidies in the field of transport and then deliver these subsidies to them in a way that hits the target.

    According to the studies the NDP conducted, the revenues of transport infrastructure projects do not cover the costs of operation and maintenance of these projects.

    True, the government is responsible for making the infrastructure. However, the revenues of these projects should cover their operation and maintenance cost or even a big part of them.

    Public transport by land must be upgraded in a way that allows it to cover operation and maintenance costs or at least a big part of them. The following steps must be taken:

    1. Defining the transport that needs subsidies to allow for a social dimension in the price of the tickets.
    2. Drawing up a pricing framework for transport services to determine how much subsidies these services should receive.
    3. The Public treasury would foot the bill of the difference in price between the economic fares and the subsidized ones.

Current transport legislation contains many laws, presidential decrees, Cabinet decisions and ministerial decisions. This led to a difficulty in coordination among the various decisions, laws and decrees.

Though many of these decisions, laws and decrees have been amended yet the biggest part of them does not suit ambitions for an upgrade of transport services.

Hence, the need for making basic changes to current legislation for it to be up to the vision of the NDP and the government for advancing transport services.

A Unified transport law is needed in the near future to regulate internal transport on the national level and replace the too many decisions, laws and decrees referred to above.

Upgrading the legal framework takes two stages:

First, introducing amendments to the following legislation:

• Law No 64 for the year 1970, which regulates transport of goods.

• Law No 55 for the year 1975 regulating the commitments of public transport administrations.

• Law No 155 for the year 1999.

• Presidential Decree No 474 for the year 1979, which stipulates the establishment of the General Authority for Nile Transport.

• To suit current and future changes and tighten supervision over transport.

• To allow for the upgrade of transport services putting the peculiarity and the priorities of the Egyptian economy into consideration.

• Defining the role of the Ministry of Transport as the body that is primarily responsible for organizing and supervising transport changing its nature from a transporting body to an organizing one.

• Defining the exact relationship between the Ministry of Transport and the other ministries and bodies that offer transport services especially the municipal councils.

• The new law must include a provision over future plans on strategic transport integration.

• Creating the climate that encourages the participation of the private sector in funding and operating transport projects putting international trends in this regard into account.

The NDP perceives safe transport for citizens as a citizenship right.

Party papers in this respect focus on the need to offer safe and suitable transport services in the light of the needs of citizens and comprehensive development requirements.

Presenting the contents of these papers to the 2nd annual congress of the party would be an embodiment of the slogan "A Call for Participation" the party endorsed in the 8th general conference. It would also be an expression of the role the NDP plays in drawing up general policies for the best interest Egypt and its citizens in tandem with the government.