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Egypt: Fuel rationing from July
Hi all. Be warned people travelling through Egypt from July. The govt announced yesterday that subsidised fuel would be rationed from July. All residents would be issued a ration card and only able to access a limited amount of fuel. 95 is no longer subsidised so that's available (but carried by less and less outlets). How that will affect travelers is unclear - but being Egypt it'll be a drama. This might simply translate to a surcharge (baksheesh), but it might be more complicated than that. Of course being Egypt it might not actually happen for another eleventy years. More info as it becomes clearer. cheers Brett
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diesel is so hard to get lanes snd lanes of cars ,trucks .:thumbdown::thumbdown: hope my country will be better soon !! |
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Hi Omar we wish you all the best for the future...and many people agree with us :thumbup1: Thomas & Andrea miles-to-ride.com |
Hey hey people!
Just a heads up, unleaded is fairly easy to get although if you're in a car you can sometimes have to queue for lengthy times. Bikers though - go straight to the front. Be warned, a few times we have had the pumps cut out half way through filling up and then they have tried to charge us double so keep your eyes on the money!! Diesel though... it's a nightmare. Our friend waited 5 hours for diesel the other day. Very scarce and hours upon hours of waiting. Black market diesel is available if you're fortunate to stumble across those with the connections but it comes at a price and with some scum so have a fuel sock to hand. Alternatively, take a hand pump and carrier around some truckers and see if they will let you siphon some for some wonga! Another trick some people have been using! Good luck all those travelling through! Hope you're not caught in the heat and queues! |
some patience please....
We have no right to expect everything become perfect in a very limited time after a very hard operation..We believe all will be in order very soon and Egyptian friends will overcome all problems they suddenly and unexpectedly met in their country.
I can never forget how local people tried to protect the museums and foreign travellers inside the country during the reformation days. Personally feel they need some understanding and morale...Happy to say will always stand beside them and our prays always will be with them. Best wishes |
Because that was the exact point of my post as an expecting European ... Not meant in a heads up to travellers who may not be aware of the situation... Noo... Not at all! ;) :p
We just wanted to let over landers know if they're heading in from sudan or nearby and have an empty tank they may have to swap their vehicle for a faluka instead due to the shortage! Incidentally we found out after bargaining that a land rover discovery will only acquire you half a faluka, however, if you are accompanied by a handsome chap sporting a moustache and with a healthy handshake you can swap him for 100 falukas! |
Is there a shortage of diesel at the moment ?
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Atlas - our friends who have crossed into Egypt have recently confirmed they're struggling with diesel still (hours queueing). Sometimes there's issues with petrol too :)
Hope you don't get stuck! Clare and Sam :) |
I have "Solar" .. if you need. Although I'm not quite on your route ... but your welcome anyway ...
Cheers : beer |
Diesel
Thanks.Will be going through in August so will follow this thread.
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OK - just driven Aswan - Luxor - Western Desert - Cairo - Sharm el Sheikh - Tabat & here is our advice regarding diesel ("Solar").
Arrive with full tanks - it's very hard to get. Fill up little & often - it's easier to get 30 liters than 130 litres. In Aswan we found ourselves being ushered to the front of the queue with no fuss being made by the locals at all. So we (reluctantly & warily) went to the front & found ourselves being looked after very well... helped by the fact that we only wanted 20 litres of course. So our tactic there after that became: - when you see people queuing for fuel you know there is a tanker just in or on it's way... here you will get fuel. - approach from the other side of the road (not from the back of the queue) & gently go to the pumps, pretending to be clueless & ask "Mumkin Solar?" ("Any diesel?" - every time (& I mean every time) we were given the thumbs up & were slotted nicely into the queue without any fuss being made by anyone. Again I must emphasise that we never put more than 40 litres in at any time. To do more would be pushing the kindness & generosity of those letting you in front of them. Most times we were charged the going rate. A couple of times we paid about 120% - 150% of the true cost... for us worth it for getting to the front, especially when it starts at 10p a litre anyway! Once the 'tip' I offered the pump guys after he filled us up was firmly given straight back to me. None actually demanded or expected one. Never were we given a hard time, involved in any problems or stupidly overcharged. I know some may think it's wrong to queue jump - fine, then sit in the queue. But I got the impression that most people had no problems with it & many quoted the importance of tourism to the Egyptian economy as being a justifiable reason. Your choice. If we had at any point felt that it was causing problems we would not have continued. BTW - the easiest place for fuel was Aswan (on the road to Abu Simbel about 10km south of Aswan), in the Western Destert & Suez. The worst were Cairo & Sinai (esp Sharm el Sheikh which has 100s of tour busses waiting or fuel daily). Good luck |
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APPARENTLY there is a "law" that allows for tourists to bypass fuel lines. I don't know if it is a local law, national law, or whatever. My thoughts are that Egypt is tourist friendly with cheap visas, VERY lax rules regarding overstaying a visa, cheap and easy extensions, etc. This could be an extention of that. We were told this by no less than 10 people and several times we would be with Egyptians in one of our cars (we were driving) and would go get fuel ahead of all others. Our friends said nothing and no one complained or batted an eye. I'd love to know more about others' experiences with this. |
Hi, Slightly sidetracked question....(we hope to get boat to Cairo in about 6 weeks - if it starts running again).
What's the fuel situation like re diesel? Has the rationing kicked in / whats cost & availability generally? Any problems as a result of the political situation in Cairo? |
Hi Wearthefoxhat,
An indication of the situation could be this recent article of the New York Times of 10 July: Sudden Improvements in Egypt Suggest a Campaign to Undermine Morsi http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/wo...&smid=fb-share Best Achim |
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