Gudaibia Palace: The Kingdom of Bahrain has embarked on a major public transport initiative with the official launch of the new public bus service set for April 1st 2015, the Minister told Cabinet on Monday.
Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications informed the Cabinet meeting the commencement of the transition phase for the new public transport project on 15th February 2015, and shared the latest progress about the project.
The Minister, who joined the Minister for Information Affairs Isa Abdulrahman, during the post Cabinet media briefing, confirmed that the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications (MTT) was working to implement its strategic plan, with the Land Transport Affairs section in the process of implementing several projects in line with this plan.
“The objective is to provide advanced and modernized services in the public transport sector, based on the findings of a comprehensive study conducted in mid-2012 to develop the public transport sector in Bahrain. He stated that an all-inclusive strategic plan was drawn up following this study which presented findings about the current and future of the industry in the Kingdom, providing options that would improve public transportation services and making them the preferred choice for citizens and residents,” the Minister, said.
“This will be implemented in a phased manner, given that the existing network has not been upgraded in over 15 years, and the infrastructure and vehicles require fundamental improvements in order to be able to sustain a high quality service and enable users to access all areas of the Kingdom, as required by recent business and economic growth.”
Based on the outcomes of the study, the MTT has developed a comprehensive strategy to develop the public transportation industry, including upgrading the network to increase its users and coverage by August 2015.
The new network will increase to 77% coverage compared to the current 35% of residential areas once the program is fully rolled out by August. In addition, the new service will comprise 32 routes in total; 20 new routes will be added to the existing 12 routes which currently link the governorates together.
His Excellency the Minister said that the upgraded public transport service will see the number of buses increase from the existing 35 to 141, catering to approximately 51,000 passengers on daily basis compared to the existing 16,000.
MTT’s contract with the former operator (CARS) came to an end this month, and the new service will be operated by new bus operator Bahrain Public Transport Company, a joint venture partnership between National Express Group plc, (UK) and Ahmed Mansour Al Aali (AMA).
The new operator has already started carrying out its duties by supplying the new buses. These buses will be operated in accordance with international safety and service standards and will be equipped with all the facilities, amenities and state-of-the-art technology to improve passenger travel experience. Some key features include special conveniences for passengers with disability and special needs, surveillance cameras and Wi-Fi connection amongst others. The buses come in three sizes according to road size and required capacity.
The new fleet started operations on February 15, 2015 as part of the transition phase, while the new network will be officially launched on 1st April 2015.
A new automated ticketing system will also be introduced on April 1st, and in the future MTT will consider replacing the paper tickets with a modern, paperless smartcard alternative based on demand and capacity. Ticket vending and refill machines will be available on board the buses, at main terminals and in several commercial outlets.
MTT is simultaneously working on revamping the current infrastructure of the public bus network and rebuilding the bus shelters with plans to complete these upgrades in time for launching the full scale of operations. An estimated 400 stops will be demolished and rebuilt following a tender that was launched and won by UK bidder True Form on July 8, 2014.
His Excellency added that upon completion of the bus transport project plan, MTT started studying the possibility of developing an advanced land transportation system using other modes of transport. Once this is completed, a full plan and budget will be put together by the end of the year.
His Excellency concluded his speech by extending his thanks to members of the cabinet, the Ministerial Committee for Services and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning and the Ministry of Interior for their efforts and continuous collaboration with the MTT to ensure the success of the public transport projects for the benefit of the country and its citizens.