Minister of Local Development Hisham Amna, Minister of Military Production Mohamed Salah Eddin Mostafa, and Cairo Governor Khaled Abdel-Aal on Sunday witnessed the signing of a joint agreement to implement a prepaid system for tickets to ride buses of the Public Transport Authority in Cairo.

Amna said that this comes as part of the ministry’s plans to develop the Public Transport Authority.

It includes converting buses to run on natural gas and electricity instead of diesel, so that the public transport fleet becomes more environmentally friendly.

He added that the plan also includes purchasing new buses, establishing the infrastructure for natural gas stations, providing electric chargers for 70 new electric buses, and collecting ride tickets electronically.

The agreement covers the installation and operation of an electronic payment and collection system for 1,800 buses, across several phases.

It also features the creation and operation of a software package to replace paper tickets to be electronically automated in line with the development and future plans of the Public Transport Authority.

A smartphone application will be designed to serve the public by informing them of the Public Transport Authority’s lines and bus schedules, alongside a web page that will publish special offers for Public Transport Authority trips.

The Cairo Public Transport Authority seeks to keep pace with these developments in order to provide integrated solutions for the smart sustainable public transport system, apply modern systems for electronic payment and collection, and implement the ticketing system and electronic subscriptions in the authority’s buses.

The protocol aims to tighten full control and oversight of revenues, which will be reflected in the regularity of public transport in Greater Cairo and the provision of services to citizens in an accessible manner.