Transport in Cairo comprises an extensive road network, rail system, subway system and maritime services for the more than 15.2 million inhabitants of the city.Cairo is the hub of almost the entire Egyptian transport network.

An extensive road network connects Cairo with other Egyptian cities and villages. There is aring road that surrounds the outskirts of the city, with exits that reach to almost every Cairo district. There areflyovers and bridges such as theSixth of October Bridge, designed to allow fast and efficient means of transport from one side of the city to the other; in practice, however, Cairo traffic is known to be overwhelming and overcrowded, withtraffic jams frequently increasing travel time far beyond the theoretical speed.^[1]

During the period between 2014 and 2020, many roads were expanded and upgraded, such as theEl Moshir Tantawy Axis which connects New Cairo to other neighborhoods in Eastern and Central Cairo, and theCairo-Suez Road which connects Cairo toEl Rehab,Madinaty,El Shorouk,Badr and theNew Administrative Capital. Thering road is also undergoing an expansion as of September 2020, which aims to increase the number of lanes to seven or eight, instead of three or four.

Many neighborhoods in Cairo have unplanned buildings, which resulted in an increasing population density in these areas, so neighborhoods such asHeliopolis andNasr City had congested streets almost daily and at all times. In late 2019, the government decided to tackle this problem by constructing a large number of overpasses inside these neighborhoods in order to remove intersections and u-turns that resulted in congestion, more than 8 overpasses were constructed in Heliopolis, and over 12 overpasses were built in Nasr City, with Mostafa El Nahas Street alone (a major axis in Nasr City) having four of them. These structures did fulfill their intended purpose, which was to eliminate traffic congestion in these areas, but they received criticism due to many reasons, one of which was the removal of many green spaces in Heliopolis, and the danger they posed for pedestrians crossing the streets (also known asjaywalking).

There are two types of buses in Cairo, those run by the Cairo Transport Authority, and those run by private companies, with the latter using smaller minibuses. Bus lines are spread all over theGreater Cairo area, and are considered the main mean of transport for many Cairenes. The tickets for the CTA buses cost anywhere fromE£4 toE£15, depending on the type of bus itself, and whether it's air conditioned or not, while tickets for buses run by private companies costE£15−30 depending on the company and the route. The ticket costs were considerably lower, but due to the devaluation of theEgyptian pound back in 2016, and the government's decision to gradually remove subsidies (which affected gas prices), the prices were increased. In recent years, other bus services such asUber Bus,Careem bus andSwvl increased in popularity.^[2][3]

The largest airport in Egypt,Cairo International Airport, is located near in theHeliopolis district and is accessible by car, taxi and bus. Thethird line of theCairo Metro, opened in 2012, was originally planned to reach the Airport, but those plans were cancelled in mid-2020 in place of a future shuttle bus system that runs directly from Adly Mansour Station to the Airport.^[4] However, some current maps still shows the line being connected to it. TheCairo Airport Shuttle Bus also operates all over Cairo for trips to or from the airport.

Cairo International Airport is the busiest airport inEgypt and the primary hub forStar Alliance member and flag carrierEgyptAir. The airport is located to the north-east of the city around 15 km from the business area of the city. The airport is administered by the Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation (EHCAAN), which controls four companies including: Cairo Airport Co., Egyptian Airports Co., National Air Navigation Services and Aviation Information Technology and the Cairo Airport Authority (CAA), which is the regulatory body.

Cairo International is the second busiest airport inAfrica afterJohannesburg International Airport inSouth Africa. Cairo Airport handles about 3,400 daily flights, more than 12,100 weekly flights, and about 125,000 yearly flights. The airport has three terminals with the third (Terminal 3), which opened in April 2009, housesEgyptAir and itsStar Alliance partners. There are also three runways (a fourth runway was opened in early 2009) and a single cargo terminal. Runway 05L/23R is 3,300m long, 05R/23L has a length of 4,000m and 16/34 is 3,180m (all of the runways are 60m wide). The fourth runway, south of the existing airfield is 4,000m by 65m and suitable for the Airbus A380.

With the assimilation ofEgyptAir intoStar Alliance in July 2008, the airport has the potential to be a major hub with its positioning between Africa, the Middle East and Europe (especially with facilities for the A380).

In 2008, the airport served 14,360,175 passengers (+14.2% vs. 2007) and handled just over 138,000 aircraft movements (+12.4% vs. 2007). According toAirports Council International statistics, of the top 100 airports in the world, CAI reported the highest growth rate of any airport in 2008.

Cairo is also planned to be served by a new airport in theNew Administrative Capital, which has been fully constructed but is not yet fully operational.

Cairo is served by its "white taxis" which have been introduced in the early 2010s and aren't run by a company, but rather by individuals. These taxis have plummeted in popularity, due to things such as the drivers not turning on their meters and instead demanding a fare which is usually considerably inflated, and other problems such as the lack of air-conditioning. The main reason, however, is the introduction of applications likeUber, which have become the main option instead of taxis. This has been met by protests from cab drivers, going as far as demanding a ban of these services.^[5]

TheCairo Metro is the first rapid transit system in Greater Cairo, Egypt and the first of only two full-fledged metro systems in Africa and only four in the Arab world. It was opened in 1987 asLine 1 from Helwan to Ramsis square, with a length of 29 kilometres (18.0 mi). As of 2014, the Cairo Metro has 61 stations (mostly At-grade), of which three are transfer stations, with a total length of 77.9 kilometres (48.4 mi). The system consists of three operational lines numbered from 1 to 3. As of 2013, the metro carried nearly 4 million passengers per day. The cost of the Metro wasE£1 to go anywhere until 2017, when it rose toE£2 (still heavily subsidized).

The Cairo Metro is run by the National Authority for Tunnels. The lines use standard gauge (1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)).

Constructed near the beginning of the 20th century, until 2014, the Cairo tramway network was still used in modern-day Cairo, especially in modern areas, like Heliopolis, Nasr City. During the 1970s government policies favoured making space for cars, resulting in the removal of over half of the 120 km network. Trams were removed entirely from central Cairo but continued to run in Heliopolis and Helwan. However, in 2015, the tramway rails were removed and the streets and side walks became wider. The reason according to the city council is that "it has been rarely used by anyone during the past decade as it is a slow mean of transportation and it has a limited geographical coverage".

This service uses a luxury sedan or saloon car driven by chauffeur to drive passengers from the airport or other locations to their destination. There are types of limousine services the main one isAirport limousine and the second one to transport people from town to town in Egypt.

Cairo is extensively connected to other Egyptian cities and villages by rail operated by theEgyptian National Railways.Cairo's main railway station -Ramses Station (Mahattat Ramses) is located on Midan Ramses.

In May 2022, theEgyptian National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) andSiemens Mobility have signed a contract to create the sixth largest high-speed rail system - 2,000 km long - in the world. The Siemens Mobility share of the combined contract is 8.1 billion EUR and includes the initial contract of 2.7 billion EUR for the first line signed September 1, 2021. Thehigh-speed rail network will connect 60 cities throughout the country, with trains that can operate at up to 230 km/h. Approximately 90 percent of Egyptians will have access to this rail system.^[6]

TheCairo Light Rail Transit or LRT, inaugurated in June 2022, links Cairo to the10th of Ramadan City and theNew Administrative Capital, providing a connection to several other communities east of Cairo along the way. The LRT's western terminus is at Adly Mansour station, where transfer to theCairo Metro Line 3 is possible.^[7]

There's a maritime ferry boat system that crosses theNile River. Here'san article from 2005 about the Nile Bus system. There is alsoa brief article, published in Al Ahram 2014 about the Nile Bus system.

In 2015 plans to construct twomonorail systems were announced, one linking October City to suburban Giza, a distance of 42 km, and the other linking Nasr City to New Cairo, a distance of 54 km. They will be Egypt's first monorail systems.^[8][9] In May 2019 the contract to build 70 four-car trains was awarded toBombardier Transportation with assembly to take place at itsDerby Litchurch Lane Works in England. Delivery of the trains is expected between 2021 and 2024.^[10]The network is to be built byOrascom Construction andArab Contractors.
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• Transport in Egypt