A city addicted to home delivery relies on Cairo’s daredevil ‘pilots'

Reckless riding driven by the pressure to reach customers as quickly as possible kills hundreds of delivery workers every year

They dart into oncoming traffic and mount pavements to avoid congestion. Travelling across road medians to change direction quickly is not unusual either, and riding without a helmet or while speaking on the phone is routine.

Traffic in Cairo, a city with a population of about 22 million, has always been a nightmare for motorists. The increase in delivery riders on motorcycles has compounded the situation, with the roads growing more chaotic and, at times, deadly.

Estimates suggest about two million people make a living as delivery riders in Cairo and other major cities across Egypt, which has a population of about 107 million. Known locally as "pilots", their relatively large number means they are seen everywhere across Cairo at all times of day or night.

Their presence on the streets of the Egyptian capital is not surprising given that demand for home deliveries in the city has significantly grown in recent years.

A delivery rider in Cairo, Egypt. Mohamed Fathi / The National

They are no longer restricted to groceries or fast food, with services now including the collection and delivery of dry cleaning and even blood samples. Cairo residents can also have their cars washed at home, with workers using mobile water tanks to complete the job overnight, send documents and photos to issue or renew passports or call a nurse to give them an injection at home.

"They've become an integral and big part of our lives. Who doesn't have them knock on their door at least once in the course of one day? In some ways they bear witness to our lives," said Tareq Taher, the prize-winning author of the 2024 Arabic book Talabat, Delivery Stories.

"They are the weakest link in a fairly big business sector," added Mr Taher, whose book is a collection of short stories about the lives of Cairo's pilots and the socioeconomic conditions that shape them. "They have no union and are mostly disenfranchised. They must be seen in the big picture of Egypt today."

Doha Mohammed, 31, is among the very few women who earn a living in Cairo, Egypt, making home deliveries. The National

Dangers of delivery

The expansion of the home delivery industry has come at a price.

There are no official figures available to show the number of road accidents involving delivery riders, but an official at the Interior Ministry's traffic department said 1,124 were killed in accidents involving motorcycles last year, an increase from 970 in 2023 and 1,015 in 2022.

Many of those killed, he said, were delivery workers.

He said the traffic department issues between 20,000 and 30,000 licences for motorcycles every month, emphasising the growing demand for home deliveries in Cairo.

Young men - and women in very rare cases - are mostly drawn to the profession, with many between the ages of 18 and 30. They mostly come from rural communities near Cairo, including the provinces of Fayoum, Beni Suef or Dakahlia, as well as poor areas of the capital.

A delivery rider in Cairo, Egypt. Mohamed Fathi / The National

Many riders buy relatively inexpensive motorcycles, often made in China or India, on instalment plans, and endure long working hours to make ends meet in a city beset by double-digit inflation that hit nearly 40 per cent in late 2023.

To cope with Cairo's punishing summer heat and fend off the haze of pollution, many of them cover their faces with light cotton scarves and wear oversized goggles. That combination makes many of them look like infantrymen in a Second World War desert campaign.

Youssef Ashraf is a typical Cairo pilot. The 19-year-old high school dropout is from Beni Suef, south of the capital. He makes home deliveries for a high-end burger chain and earns just enough to share an apartment with five other pilots in the poor district of an otherwise upscale suburb west of Cairo.

"We sleep on the floor. We have no furniture," he said of the apartment, where the six riders split the monthly 3,000 pound ($62.80) rent. "I spend another 50 pounds to keep my motorcycle safe overnight in a car park.

"All that comes from the 200 to 250 pounds I make a day," he lamented, before darting off to deliver an order of one burger, chicken wings and fries.

Heavy traffic can make the roads hazardous in Cairo. Getty Images

In many ways, the pilots are emblematic of Egypt's economic challenges, something Mr Taha touched on in his book.

"I was criticised by some for portraying them as angels and never mentioned the negative in them," he said, referring to the havoc they can wreak on traffic. "If you see them driving their motorcycles fast and recklessly, it's because they don't want to be running late."

One of his short stories is titled A Letter to the Eaters of Hot Potatoes, which describes a pilot who grew up in orphanages.

"Motorists treat us like insects because there is so many of us. Do you know how many delivery men I know have died because of your meals? How many delivery men broke a leg or suffered an incapacitating injury so you can eat your potatoes hot?"

Delivery rider Mahmoud Sobhy, 29, says those ferrying food to customers face real risks. "Delivering food is tricky and comes with so many problems," he said. "That's why I have been delivering for a pharmacy for the past four years.

"Like everyone else, I am doing this because there's nothing else for me to do. I tried to join the state electricity company that my father worked at for years, but I did not get the job."