1001 Smart Cities

Permanent project revision

Cairo Bike: Egypt's First Public Bike Share

Revision 2026-08-20-claim-baseline · effective 2026-07-26

Superseded. A later revision exists: 2026-08-21-source-dates →

unreviewed

Created the first structured Evidence Passport with 10 claims and 10 source dossiers.

sha256:5846b09675d252ea20c35069a5648bc04f7f0691473c39bfac9042209255f8ee
All revisions → Current entity page →

Change set

  • add /evidencePassport — Added claim-level evidence mapping and source dossiers.
  • add /revisionHistory — Established a permanent, hash-addressed baseline revision.
10
of 10 claims mapped
10
source dossiers
5
publication dates recorded
0
archives linked
0
exact locators
0
content captures hashed

Claims, one by one

The text below is copied verbatim from the published record. Each claim names the source dossiers that carry it; caveats stay attached to the claim they qualify.

Claim 1 clm-8e6fa25bf7b15789 descriptive
owned by Cairo Governorate, paid for by the Swiss Drosos Foundation, delivered with UN-Habitat and technically supervised by ITDP
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The supervising organisation's account verifies the philanthropic funding and the UN-Habitat and ITDP roles, and records that the first consortium won a competitive tender. The governorate's own page carries the partner list and names the local operator.
Caveat
ITDP supervised the project, so on questions of delivery quality it is a participant source rather than an outside one.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. ITDP — With the Launch of Cairo's Bikeshare, Cycling Gains Momentum in Africa
  2. Cairo Governorate — Cairo Bike Project
Claim 2 clm-8fb04aff7bab688e quantitative
A first attempt in July 2022 collapsed within weeks; the governorate cancelled the maintenance contract that August after the contractor demanded more money, and bicycles disappeared from the docks
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The August 2022 report verifies that the governorate cancelled the maintenance contract after the contractor demanded excessive compensation and that only 5 of 26 phase-one stations had been built. The independent September account describes roughly 50 bikes at four stations, bikes gone from the docks, an unreachable payment site, GPS not activated, thefts reported, and no dedicated bike lanes in place.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Youm7 — The truth about Cairo Bike's suspension (13 August 2022)
  2. Al-Araby Al-Jadeed — Downtown Cairo bicycles: a project that died before it was born (13 September 2022)
Claim 3 clm-29c67d5e48b196dc quantitative
The scheme was inaugurated again on 20 October 2022, weeks before Egypt hosted COP27, with 250 GPS-tracked bicycles at 25 to 26 solar-powered stations and fares from one Egyptian pound an hour
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The agency report verifies the 20 October 2022 inauguration by the prime minister, 250 GPS-tracked bikes at 26 solar-powered docks, station sizes and the EGP 1 per hour and EGP 8 per day fares. The supervising organisation's account gives the same fleet and fare.
Caveat
Checked specifically for a project cost: the agency report states the philanthropic funding but gives no monetary figure, so the widely repeated US$1.5 million figure is not carried in the entry.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Xinhua — Cairo launches 1st bike-sharing project (21 October 2022)
  2. ITDP — With the Launch of Cairo's Bikeshare, Cycling Gains Momentum in Africa
Claim 4 clm-598d1286415aac7e quantitative
The Danish-Egyptian Rascom-Donkey Republic consortium was dropped for the Egyptian operator Baddel, and the system reopened in September 2023 on a new app
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The restart report verifies the second shutdown and the 2023 relaunch under a new operator after the previous one's failure, with 250 bikes at 26 downtown stations and a higher relaunch fare of EGP 5 per hour plus EGP 2. The governorate's page names Baddel Bike Share as the local operator.
Caveat
A date conflict runs through the sources: a companion governorate statement dates the local operator's takeover to April 2023, while the governorate's own user figures run from the September 2023 relaunch.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Al-Masry Al-Youm — How to use Cairo Bike after its restart (22 October 2023)
  2. Cairo Governorate — Cairo Bike Project
Claim 5 clm-913c82e5fe3081ef quantitative
In June 2024 Al-Masry Al-Youm watched the stations for seven days: the app refused bookings, the hotline printed on the signs was disconnected, bicycles were poorly maintained, and pedestrians and motorcycles stood in the lanes
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
An independent seven-day field observation from 17 to 23 June 2024: the app rejected all bookings, the hotline printed on project signage was disconnected, no bikes stood at the Qasr El-Aini station, maintenance was poor, and the lanes were encroached by pedestrians and motorcycles.
Caveat
The strongest independent evidence in the entry — direct observation rather than a statement by any party to the project.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Al-Masry Al-Youm — Cairo's streets write the end of Cairo Bike (investigation)
Claim 6 clm-d2d70f25bf78aa02 quantitative
Of roughly 15 kilometres of protected lane planned, about two were built, behind 50-centimetre plastic barriers
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The governorate's own page records that bike lanes of one to two metres were installed across approximately 2 km; the supervising organisation's account carries the protected-lane plan the two kilometres are measured against.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Cairo Governorate — Cairo Bike Project
  2. ITDP — With the Launch of Cairo's Bikeshare, Cycling Gains Momentum in Africa
Claim 7 clm-7aad058c2d593410 descriptive
No public trip data or GBFS feed was found
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
Neither the governorate's project page nor any other source reached publishes a trip dataset or a standard availability feed. The app listing could not be read: the store returned only navigation chrome with the body truncated, and a mirror returned an error.
Caveat
A negative finding, and the app source is listed only to document that the post-2024 status check was attempted and came up short.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Cairo Governorate — Cairo Bike Project
  2. Cairo Bike app (Google Play, developer Velvioo)
Claim 8 clm-3246866a39090285 quantitative
Rebutting the newspaper investigation on 8 July 2024, Cairo Governorate said the app had drawn more than 37,000 users since the September 2023 relaunch, 18,000 of them since January 2024, with about 2,000 regular users and 43,821 trips completed in total across 25 stations and 250 bicycles
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The sole source for every usage figure: 37,000-plus app users since the September 2023 relaunch, 18,000 since January 2024, about 2,000 regular users and 43,821 trips.
Caveat
A governorate self-report relayed by the paper, not independently audited, and published in rebuttal of an investigation. No station-level or trip data was released against which the figures could be checked.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Al-Masry Al-Youm — Cairo Governorate responds: we have an expansion plan (8 July 2024)
Claim 9 clm-0fcc6f232b0ccce7 quantitative
The same statement promised roughly 500 bicycles at 45 stations 'within several months'; this review found no source recording that second phase opening. The most recent confirmation found that the system was running is that July 2024 statement
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The July 2024 statement carries the expansion promise, and the governorate's own project page still lists phase two as 'sought' rather than delivered. No later confirmation of operation was found in this review.
Caveat
A dated negative finding: absence in the sources reached is not proof the phase did not open.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Al-Masry Al-Youm — Cairo Governorate responds: we have an expansion plan (8 July 2024)
  2. Cairo Governorate — Cairo Bike Project
Claim 10 clm-2bdc04b98dd657cf descriptive
A philanthropic grant can buy bicycles, docks and an app, but it cannot buy an operator that stays or a street that is safe to ride on
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The scheme lost its first contractor in August 2022 over money, was rebuilt around a second operator for the September 2023 relaunch, and by June 2024 an independent seven-day observation found the lanes occupied by pedestrians and motorcycles and the app refusing bookings.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Youm7 — The truth about Cairo Bike's suspension (13 August 2022)
  2. Al-Masry Al-Youm — How to use Cairo Bike after its restart (22 October 2023)
  3. Al-Masry Al-Youm — Cairo's streets write the end of Cairo Bike (investigation)

Source dossiers and revision state

This layer records what is known about each source, what is still missing, and the exact snapshot this page is rendering. A missing date, archive or hash stays visible as missing.

unreviewed Revision 2026-08-20-claim-baseline effective 2026-07-26 · created 2026-08-21

Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither.

sha256:5846b09675d252ea20c35069a5648bc04f7f0691473c39bfac9042209255f8ee
Revision history → Permanent version link → Machine-readable record → Evidence Constitution →
10
of 10 claims mapped
10
source dossiers
5
publication dates recorded
0
archives linked
0
exact locators
0
content captures hashed

Governance facts carried by the record

Operator
Baddel Bike Share for Cairo Governorate (Rascom-Donkey Republic consortium, 2022-2023)
Actor types
private
Funding model
grant
Funding description
Drosos Foundation (Zurich), with UN-Habitat; ITDP technical supervision
Cost
Not recorded
Ownership
Not recorded
Decision rights
Not recorded
Exit conditions
Not recorded

10 source dossiers

ITDP — With the Launch of Cairo's Bikeshare, Cycling Gains Momentum in Africa itdp.org · 3 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-748f24aa9ef83fc5
Publisher
Name not classified · itdp.org
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-21
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Fetched. Verifies Drosos funding, UN-Habitat and ITDP roles, the Rascom-Donkey Republic consortium winning a competitive tender, 250 bikes at 26 docks, six square kilometres covering Downtown, Sayeda Zeinab, Garden City and Attaba, the EGP 1 per hour fare, and the protected-lane plan. ITDP supervised the project, so it is a participant source on delivery quality.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Cairo Governorate — Cairo Bike Project cairo.gov.eg · 5 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-8ba2f4ca7466cf14
Publisher
Name not classified · cairo.gov.eg
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-21
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Fetched. Owner/authority source. Verifies Baddel Bike Share as the local operator, the partner list, 250 bikes at 25 stations, the phase-1 districts, phase 2 as still 'sought', and that bike lanes of one to two metres were installed across approximately 2 km.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Al-Masry Al-Youm — Cairo's streets write the end of Cairo Bike (investigation) almasryalyoum.com · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-cc53eb143b665f87
Publisher
Name not classified · almasryalyoum.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-21
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Fetched. Independent seven-day field observation, 17-23 June 2024: app rejected all bookings, hotline on project signage disconnected, no bikes at Qasr El-Aini station, poor maintenance, lanes encroached by pedestrians and motorcycles. The strongest independent evidence on the entry.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Al-Masry Al-Youm — Cairo Governorate responds: we have an expansion plan (8 July 2024) almasryalyoum.com · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-65277d2d2bb45f5d
Publisher
Name not classified · almasryalyoum.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2024-07-08
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-21
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Fetched. Sole source for every usage figure in the impact paragraph: 37,000+ app users since the September 2023 relaunch, 18,000 since January 2024, 2,000 regular users, 43,821 trips. Governorate self-report relayed by the paper — not independently audited.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Al-Masry Al-Youm — How to use Cairo Bike after its restart (22 October 2023) almasryalyoum.com · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-2449380135b4a2a9
Publisher
Name not classified · almasryalyoum.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2023-10-22
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-21
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Fetched. Verifies the second shutdown and the 2023 restart under a new operator after the previous operator's failure, 250 bikes at 26 downtown stations, and a higher relaunch fare (EGP 5 per hour plus EGP 2). Note a date conflict: a companion governorate statement dates the local operator's takeover to April 2023, while the governorate's own user figures run from the September 2023 relaunch.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Youm7 — The truth about Cairo Bike's suspension (13 August 2022) youm7.com · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-40841de19d00c0cb
Publisher
Name not classified · youm7.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2022-08-13
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-21
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Fetched. Verifies that Cairo Governorate cancelled the maintenance contract in August 2022 after the contractor demanded excessive compensation, that only 5 of 26 phase-1 stations were then built, and the full published fare table including student rates and annual subscriptions.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Al-Araby Al-Jadeed — Downtown Cairo bicycles: a project that died before it was born (13 September 2022) alaraby.co.uk · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-fe5d661eafd95325
Publisher
Name not classified · alaraby.co.uk
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2022-09-13
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-21
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Fetched. Independent account of the failed first launch: roughly 50 bikes at four stations, bikes gone from docks, payment site unreachable, GPS not activated, thefts reported, and no dedicated bike lanes in place.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Middle East Eye — Cairo's first bike-sharing project comes to nothing middleeasteye.net · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-dc75c4c0417aa20d
Publisher
Name not classified · middleeasteye.net
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-21
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Fetched. Independent international confirmation of the 2022 stall before COP27: station guards told to stop handing out bikes, governorate declining to comment, and an engineering academic on the absence of road redesign for cycle lanes. Its claim that a ride-hailing company objected is reported as an allegation and is not used in this entry.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
Xinhua — Cairo launches 1st bike-sharing project (21 October 2022) english.news.cn · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-70774dc1c815672b
Publisher
Name not classified · english.news.cn
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2022-10-21
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-21
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Fetched. Verifies the 20 October 2022 inauguration by Prime Minister Madbouly, 250 GPS-tracked bikes at 26 solar-powered docks, station sizes, and the EGP 1 per hour / EGP 8 per day fares. Checked specifically for a project cost: it states Drosos funding but gives no monetary figure, so the widely repeated 1.5 million USD figure is not carried in this entry.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Cairo Bike app (Google Play, developer Velvioo) play.google.com · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-d7edaa0126f25c90
Publisher
Name not classified · play.google.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-21
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

FETCH FAILED — Google Play returned only navigation chrome with the body truncated, and an AppBrain mirror returned HTTP 403. Search results indicate an Android update in June 2025 and removal of the iOS build in January 2025, but neither could be confirmed against a fetched page, so no claim from this source is used in the snippet. Listed only to document that the post-2024 status check was attempted and came up short.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Known limits of this passport
  • Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.
  • Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.
  • A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.
  • The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim.