Unlicensed Cairo Valets Now Face Up to 5 Years in Prison and EGP 50,000 Fine

If the bane of your existence is some random guy in a neon vest directing you into a parking spot you’ve already parked in and then proceeding to act like they’re God’s gift to the valet industry and charges you 10 pounds for his “service,” we’ve got some good news.

A phenomenon that has plagued Egyptian cities for years, these guys will each claim a street and "park" any cars on the streets for a small fee. It is ridiculous considering that the street is a public place where cars have the right to park for free. Plus, they never do any work anyway, you park and they maybe direct you here and there and want you to pay as much as EGP 25 in some main streets.

Officials from the General Directorate of Traffic told Nasryoum that a new decree now criminalises any unlicensed valet service or “sayes”, with a maximum of 5 years in jail and/or a minimum EGP 50,000 fine. There is already Law 95 from 1992 that states that anyone parking cars on the street must have legal paperwork showing they are official, we think this law exists so restaurants and hotels can have a legal valet service.

Nasryoum reports that the job was previously done by ex-convicts who would become sayes-es under police supervision, so the job spread as a way to make easy money after being released from prison, due to the difficulties ex-convicts face when they try and find work after prison. 

We are sympathetic but they have proven themselves to be annoying, rude, and unbelievably entitled.  Even though unemployment is high in Egypt we think there are other jobs that people can do, and frankly we are not going to lose any sleep over this decree. The legal grounds for the criminalisation is that they take advantage of people with no authority whatsoever. 

So, if one of those assholes comes up to you and attempts to "help" you park, you can call this hotline, 136 or this mobile number, 01155554444, they are available to receive complaints 24-hours a day.