Bey2ollak: A Social Media App for Cairo’s Traffic

In a sprawling mega-city with population approaching 20 million, traffic jams are a part of the common public experience. However, Google is offering a way to leverage ideas and brains of young entrepreneurs by organizing a business competition for innovative ideas. According to Google’s VP of emerging markets in South and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, “We’re not interested in starting revolutions. We have no position. But we know that if you empower people with enough information and knowledge, they will make the right choice.”

One such project is a winner of $200,000 in seed money. It is a social media start-up known as Bey2ollak, whose free crowd-sourcing app allows local residents to report on and avoid traffic. “Bey2ollak allows drivers and passengers to use smart phones to report whether specific roads and bridges in Cairo and Alexandria are clear, clogged, or impassable.”

Video on Cairo's Traffic:



Reference: King, Noel, After Aiding Egypt's Revolution, Social Media Is Taking On Cairo's Traffic, May 22, 2012