Is it legal? What does a seat actually cost? How do you know who you are travelling with? These are the questions people ask before their first shared trip — answered plainly, with no small print.
Yes. SAWA is a cost-sharing platform, not a transport operator. Car owners on SAWA are private individuals making a journey they were already making, and passengers contribute towards fuel and tolls for that shared trip.
SAWA does not employ drivers, does not own vehicles, does not run a meter, and does not operate as a taxi or ride-hailing company. Nobody is meant to profit from a trip — the point is to split what the journey costs.
On SAWA a seat is priced as a share of the real trip cost — fuel plus tolls divided between the people in the car — so it is typically well below a private intercity taxi and in the same range as, or cheaper than, a premium bus ticket.
The exact contribution is shown on each trip before you request a seat, so you always see the number first. Prices vary with fuel costs, the car, and how many seats are filled.
SAWA is Egypt's intercity carpooling app. It connects car owners who have empty seats with passengers travelling the same route at around the same time, so an existing trip carries more people and everyone pays less.
It is available free on iOS and Android and covers routes across Egypt.
A taxi or ride-hailing trip is created for you: a driver goes where you ask and charges a fare. On SAWA, the trip already exists. The car owner has decided where and when they are going, and you either fit that plan or you don't.
That is why SAWA works for long intercity journeys where a taxi is expensive and a bus is rigid: you get a real door-to-door car ride at a shared cost.
BlaBlaCar does not operate in Egypt. SAWA is the Egyptian intercity carpooling platform, built specifically around Egyptian routes, cities, pricing and travel habits — Cairo to Alexandria, Cairo to Mansoura, Cairo to Hurghada, Ain Sokhna, and more.
Every member has a profile with ratings and reviews from previous trips. ID verification is available and clearly marked on profiles, so you can choose to travel only with verified members.
You see the route, timing, car and who else is travelling before you request a seat, and you can message inside the app before committing. A women-only trip option is available for members who prefer it.
Yes. SAWA offers an optional women-only trip setting, so female travellers can choose to share the car only with other women. It is a choice, not a restriction — you decide what you are comfortable with.
SAWA is built for intercity travel across Egypt. The busiest routes include Cairo–Alexandria, Cairo–Mansoura, Cairo–Tanta, Cairo–Ain Sokhna, Cairo–Hurghada, Cairo–Sharm El Sheikh, Cairo–Assiut and Alexandria–Marsa Matrouh.
Because trips come from real people, new routes appear as members post journeys they were already making.
No. SAWA has two kinds of members: car owners who publish the trip they are already making and offer their empty seats, and passengers who search for a trip going their way. You can be either — or both, on different days.
The contribution for each seat is agreed up front and shown clearly on the trip before you request it, so there are no surprises and no meter running. SAWA is about splitting the cost of a journey, never about profiting from it.
Yes. SAWA is free to download on the App Store and Google Play, and free to create an account, browse trips and publish a journey.
Download SAWA, create your profile, and either search for a trip on your route or publish the journey you are already making. Once a car owner accepts your request you agree the pickup point in the app and travel together.
"SAWA is a carpooling and cost-sharing platform. We connect people already travelling in the same direction — we do not provide transportation services and we do not operate as a taxi or ride-hailing company."