Careem officially kicked off its bus services in Cairo earlier this week, announcing that the service is available for anyone with the Careem Bus app on their Android or iOS device.
The new service works more or less along the same lines as Careem’s ride-hailing services. Users have to enter their pick-up and drop-off locations in the app and then choose from a list of available buses in that route based on their preferred time.
The company, a regional competitor to Uber, is optimistic that the new service will be popular among students, working professionals, and other regular commuters in Egypt’s capital city as its fares are up to 60 to 70 percent cheaper than what Careem’s regular car service costs.
As of now, the Careem Bus app supports only payments through cash, although the company plans on adding other payment methods including Careem Wallet in the near future.
“Customers now expect the same high-tech experience across all products and services they engage with – why shouldn’t taking a bus to be as seamless as ride-hailing a car? Research conducted by Careem revealed 40 percent of the Egyptian population is not being adequately served by a transportation service that suits their needs and the situation was getting worse,” Hadeer Shalaby, Director of Careem Bus, remarked following the launch.
Initially, the service includes a fleet of 13-seater air-conditioned bus while the designated bus stops are around major city landmarks. Careem says it is open to the idea of adding more routes and improvising on the existing ones based on user feedback.
As for expanding its bus services to other markets, Careem acknowledged that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are on its radar next.