The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Featured image via Think Marketing Magazine

If you don’t already know, Google Maps is not the only traffic application in Egypt. Actually, in recent years, a bunch of other international applications have entered the market, competing with Google Maps, and local traffic app, Bey2ollak. Today we’re telling you about what it was like using these apps, putting Google Maps as the benchmark, we’re comparing each application to it.

HERE WeGo – Offline Maps & GPS

Once you open the app, you’ll be prompted to give it optional permissions in order to improve your experience. It gives you car, bike, transit, and walking routes and times, and while the interface is different from Google’s, we feel that traffic data is not as accurate.

Waze Social GPS Maps & Traffic

Waze’s cool interface puts it ahead, especially with the details of its preferences, and its easy and user-friendly options. Waze allows you to select your preferences for roads in terms of avoiding ferries, freeways, unpaved roads, and intersections, it also adapts your route to the type of vehicle, whether private, taxi, or motorcycle. But that’s not all, Waze also has a ton of voice options in a multitude of languages, plus, you can even record your own voice directions. With Google Maps as the benchmark, this is as close as it gets. To some, it may actually be better.

Bey2ollak

Bey2ollak was the first traffic app to hit Cairo, and unlike all these other apps, Bey2ollak depends on people actually reporting traffic updates on their app. Instead of entering your location and receiving the best route, Bey2ollak offers you reports on specific roads through actual people driving there. It gives you the average speed and indication of how good the road is through smiley faces, and if contributing reporters are not enough, Bey2ollak gives their own report of the road condition. It’s more accurate than map applications in terms of identifying road blocks or speed cameras on highways.

Rawa7

While not inherently a traffic app, Rawa7 is excellent for people looking to be more frugal on their commutes. The app is very small in size and very simple in use yet quite helpful. Open the app, input your location and where you want to go, and it will tell you exactly how to go from point A to point B using different public transit options.

Cairo Metro

A very simple and small application that tells you all you need to know about the Metro in Cairo. You can input your location or any other location to identify the nearest station, check out the entire metro map, get to know the stops in each line, or even calculate the ticket price for your commute.