EGYPT-TOURIST BUSES/GPS Egypt fits tourist buses with GPS tracking for safety

Record ID: 847231

  • Title: EGYPT-TOURIST BUSES/GPS Egypt fits tourist buses with GPS tracking for safety
  • Date: 6th November 2014
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) GPS MONITORING OPERATOR, SHAIMAA MOHAMED, SAYING: "I'm here as an operator, a GPS operator. We follow the tourist buses that have been fitted with GPS devices and we file violations and warnings on a daily basis. We send companies these warnings and they are penalised on these bases." GPS OPERATORS LOOKING AT SCREENS IN CONTROL ROOM
  • Embargoed: 21st November 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt
  • City:
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA9INLAM6W1ZY2Z206AQMWD70VF
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  • Story Text: Egypt's Ministry of Tourism launched a training programme for drivers of tourist buses this month after the government installed Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking on all tourist buses.
    At the tourism authority, sitting above a highly-congested part of Cairo, is a control room where the movements of buses equipped with the tracking devices are closely monitored in the event of an attack, kidnapping or mechanical breakdowns that could leave tourists vulnerable.
    Hundreds die and thousands are wounded every year in Egyptian road accidents, often caused by reckless driving and poor roads.
    Drivers were guided across a training course on Thursday (November 6) organised by the ministry.
    "The GPS (Global Positioning System) device on the buses is very important because the training is like a system consisting of monitoring, training and then there is the law to regulate. The system has to be in three parts, so we start with the training and improving the skills of the drivers and teaching them about the dangers. The monitoring system of the GPS can monitor the drivers, their speed and also where they stop and from where they moved. Also an important security measure is that the monitoring can locate the vehicle if it changes its direction," said a driver taking part in the course.
    The new measures are part of the ministry's efforts to revive one of the country's most vital industries by next April, persuading the world that it is safe to visit the ancient pyramids or Red Sea resorts after three years of upheaval.
    "I'm here as an operator, a GPS operator. We follow the tourist buses that have been fitted with GPS devices and we file violations and warnings on a daily basis. We send companies these warnings and they are penalised on these bases," said
    Shaimaa Mohamed, a GPS operator at the control centre.
    Meanwhile, Mostafa Abdel Latif, a representative of the Ministry of Tourism, said the plan would eventually include all buses operating under a tourism license and those who did not install the GPS devices by the deadline, would have their licenses revoked.
    "By November 13, we will have fully equipped about 1820 buses with the GPS devices. We still have about 800 buses to fit, which we expect to complete by November 13. After that, we will outlaw all the buses that do not have these devices equipped. Drivers and the companies they work for will also be reprimanded because, as I mentioned, we will revoke the vehicle's tourism license and we inform customs and traffic departments to take the necessary measures to deal with them," Abdel Latif said.
    He said all tourism buses across Egypt were being monitored all day and that drivers received training and had medical check ups. If a driver exceeded 100KM per hour, the monitoring room would be alerted, he said.
    Despite the current drop in tourism, Egypt's tourism industry has survived big setbacks in the past.
    On November 17, 1997 Islamic militants descended on Queen Hatshepsut's temple near the Nile town of Luxor. In a short time they shot or hacked to death 58 tourists and four Egyptians.
    The following January and February, visitor numbers were down almost 60 percent from the previous year. Yet the industry staged a remarkable comeback.
    Western countries whose travel warnings make the ministry's job more challenging are looking at a more complex security equation in Egypt these days.
    The rapid advance of Islamic State -- a group seen as more extreme than al Qaeda -- has worried governments across the region, including in Egypt, a strategic U.S. ally which has a peace treaty with Israel and controls the Suez Canal waterway.
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