E-scooters may be green, but can they change how we travel? As the streets of Cairo become increasingly congested, a new mode of transportation is gaining traction among commuters: e-scooters. Though the vehicles have seen a rise in popularity in certain areas of the city such as Zamalek and Maadi, the question remains: are e-scooters merely a passing trend, or do they have the potential to transform Cairo’s streetscape for good?

Rabbit Mobility is one company that has gained popularity since launching its services in 2020. “We primarily focused on gated communities when we first started to test operational capacity and technological capabilities,” the company’s co-founder and CEO Kamal ElSoueni tells us. “However, after observing the positive response from users, we expanded our operations to other areas, including Zamalek, Maadi, and Heliopolis. As word spread and demand grew, the company further expanded to other governorates and reached a user base of over 330k by April 2023.”

Location is key: Rabbit Mobility strategically selects areas with high traffic congestion, population density, and limited parking spaces, with locations like Heliopolis, Zamalek, Mohandiseen, Agouza, and Maadi being ideal for e-scooters due to suitable traffic speeds. Yet, other locations such as New Cairo are less suited to the vehicles due to the nature of the roads and the scooters’ limited range, which is typically between 20-25 km, professor of sustainable architecture at AUC Sherif Goubran says.

E-scooters are good for the environment: Unlike traditional cars, e-scooters produce zero direct emissions, contributing to reduced air pollution and carbon emissions in the city. Rabbit, whose app tracks the volume of saved CO2 with each ride, has saved around 65k kg of carbon emissions since January 2022, says ElSoueni. “Despite concerns regarding the environmental impact of lithium-ion batteries, e-scooters have proven to be a greener alternative to the fossil-fuel-burning machines,” he tells us.

But the lack of proper infrastructure and regulation remains a significant challenge: Cairo’s vast and crowded street grid might not be well-suited to accommodate the influx of electric scooters. The absence of designated bike lanes, charging stations, and parking spaces for e-scooters poses safety concerns and inconvenience for riders and pedestrians alike. And unlike cars, they are not registered or licensed.

Solutions could be found abroad: “What we’re seeing with the e-scooters in many cases is that it’s becoming more endemic, meaning it’s becoming very overused and in some cases unregulated, where you walk on some sidewalks and find these e-scooters just lying around obstructing movement,” Goubran says. “But regulations such as dedicated parking locations and fines for scooters outside those areas are becoming common in some cities abroad. Bans and restrictions on the number of operating companies have also been implemented. Considering this global landscape is crucial when discussing Egypt,” he adds.

That’s not to say that there aren’t regulations on companies operating in the sector:E-scooter firms, like other digital transportation companies regulated under recent legislation governing smart transport, have to meet certain conditions to acquire licenses, a government source told Enterprise. Companies have to pay EGP 30 mn and submit safety and operational documentation in order to be licensed.

But is this all a trend? Goubran thinks so, stating that it might not necessarily fill a mobility gap. As a mobility solution, e-scooters have the potential, but it requires strategic considerations in terms of placement, marketing, pricing, and legislation to ensure it doesn’t remain solely a leisure activity. “As a resident of Maadi, I have personally used the scooter a few times to travel from my place to a location near my parents’ house, for example. However, in many cases, I observe that most users perceive it more as a fun activity, taking it for a few laps until the battery runs out,” Goubran says. “We really have to consider who this is solving an issue for.”

Some people do see scooters as a viable replacement for cars: “Rabbit Mobility’s e-scooters saved me, not only financially but they also saved me time. I rely on them almost everyday to get through Maadi for work if I don’t feel like walking,” according to one user we spoke to. They no longer drive their car or use Uber.

But the nature of the business could hinder the mass adoption of e-scooters for mobility: “It’s definitely a trend,” says Mohamed Mohi El Dien, co-founder of Vesstoss, an e-scooter company that recently went into hibernation after struggling with the tough nature of the business. “Maintenance and operations emerged as the primary challenges that had a detrimental impact on our business,” Mohi El Dien tells us, highlighting the constant replacement of tires, difficulties in replacing batteries, and long charging times as problems for the company. “This limits the potential for e-scooters to become more than just a passing trend in Egypt at the moment,” he says.

The fate of e-scooters in Cairo hangs in the balance: The future of e-scooters in Cairo hinges upon their ability to evolve beyond a passing trend and truly change the way people move through the city. “All in all, I think it has the potential to be a mobility solution, but there are things we have to consider,” Goubran says. “In order to move away from solely providing solutions for areas that are already easily walkable, [e-scooter companies] could incentivize longer trips, encouraging users to travel greater distances. Another option is to incentivize locking and unlocking the e-scooters at different locations or encouraging multiple uses per day,” he suggests.

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