FILE PHOTO: People wait to board a train at Al Shohadaa "Martyrs" metro station, formerly know as "Mubarak", in Cairo, Egypt July 24, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt will raise the price of tickets on Cairo’s loss-making metro system from next July, tripling the present fare for many commuters, the state-owned newspaper al-Ahram said on Sunday.

Commuters will be charged a base fare of 2 Egyptian pounds (11 U.S. cents) for the first 9 stops, and an additional pound for 9 more stations, the newspaper, quoting Transport Minister Hisham Arafat, said.

A maximum fare of 6 Egyptian pounds will be charged for commuters who ride one line from start to finish, though discounted rates for government workers and students will be maintained.

Currently, commuters can cover an unlimited number of stops and can even switch lines for the same base fare of 2 Egyptian pounds.

The move comes as part of an effort by the transport authority to cover operational costs after the floatation of the Egyptian pound, the newspaper said.

The government angered Cairo residents, already hit by a sharp rise in living costs, when it doubled the price of metro tickets in March for millions of commuters, an increase which followed losses of 500 million Egyptian pounds which have put the network at risk, media reported in March.