To some they are a nuisance as they weave through traffic on Egypt's chaotic city streets or zip down narrow alleyways. To others they are a cheap way of getting from A to B in a fraction of the time it takes on public transport.
Now the government wants to regulate tuktuks - three-wheeled motorised rickshaws or mini-cabs - by introducing a national licensing system and nudging drivers to convert to natural gas-powered minibuses.
Often decked out with fluorescent lights and powerful sound systems, their mostly youthful drivers fearlessly venture onto highways, squeeze through improbable gaps in traffic and swerve between oncoming cars. Tarek Awad, the spokesperson for the initiative, said he expected half the drivers to choose to swap their rickshaws for minivans — what he called a "safe and civilized" means of transport.
"An old lady with five or six bags and two children — is she going to hail a taxi for 30 pounds ? Or is she going to take the tuktuk for five?" asked 39-year-old driver Hany Khamis Abd al-Qadr.