11 months 3 days 6 hours 36 minutes 25 seconds ago
New routes will be launched in the coming months to enhance the public transport system in Oman, a senior official from the Mwasalat said. “The company will launch its Al Khoudh route, which will connect the Sultan Qaboos University and Burj Al Sahwa Roundabout, in July and the number of buses to Sohar and Nizwa will be increased during the holy month of Ramadan,” Eng. Salim bin Mohammed Al Nuaimi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport and Communications for Transport, said. Eng. Salim who is also the Board Chairman of Mwasalat said that eight buses will be operated between Sohar and Muscat and five buses between Muscat and Nizwa. “The company will increase the number of buses to Salalah during Khareef season,” Eng. Salim added. About the progress in A’Duqm, he said that the company is studying with specialists from the Special Economic Zone Authority of Duqm (SEZAD) the transportation requirements within the region. “A new Muscat-Duqm Route (one bus every day) will start operating in the third quarter of this year, and the number of buses could be increased after the evaluation of the first phase,” Eng. Salim added. About the current routes, Eng. Salim said that Ruwi-Al Amerat Route, recently launched, is a successful route and there is a demand to increase the length of this route to include Al Nahdha Neighborhood, as the average number of passengers on the route is 850 passengers a day. He added that the same applies to the new Ruwi-Muttrah, Al Alam Palace Route, which was inaugurated on April 24th as more than 500 passengers use the route a day. He explained that the number of buses that are used on the routes in the Governorate of Muscat is 28 and it will go up to 36 after the launch of Al Khoudh Route. The company is also operating 28 buses on the inter-city routes. Eng. Salim added that the company has a fleet of approximately 400 buses for schools and Sultan Qaboos University contracts. In response to a question about linking the governorates, he said that currently the governorates are linked to the Governorate of Muscat and there is a plan to increase the number of trips from Muscat to governorates, stressing that there is a study for inter-city services to link the governorates and major cities. Eng. Salim said that the strategic plan of the company for the 20 years to come has now been completed and will be disclosed in the forthcoming October. According to Eng. Salim, the master plan includes three main objectives. “First, it will determine the basic requirements to provide public bus services in detail beginning from Muscat, and then in the rest of the cities and regions of the Sultanate and the routes that could be operated outside the Sultanate,” Eng. Salim said. He added that it will also include details of the integrated financial plan for its implementation, as well as determining the future requirements in the modernization of the necessary infrastructure. He added that the strategy includes the developmental aspects of trying to find an integrated public system to serve all segments of the society, to reach the concept of public transport, to achieve the highest growth rates in accordance with the quality standards with respect to mass transport in order to reduce traffic congestion, enhance the economic and social benefits by the implementation of the public transport system and to revitalize the commercial and tourism activity and the associated services. He added that the strategy is being implemented through the purchase of new buses to support this sector and there are plans that will be announced in the second half of this year with respect to Muscat and the rest of the governorates. He explained that nearly 1.1 million passengers used our buses until the end of March this year and since the start of operations of the company in its new identity inside Muscat on November 22nd, 2015 at a rate of 9,000 passengers a day. Eng. Salim also added that there are negotiations with some banks and investment companies in coordination with the Ministry of Finance to implement programmes and plans of the company, which would reduce government support in the current period.
Source: http://timesofoman.com/article/84799/Oman/Transport/Oman-transport:-Mwasalat-expands-network-more-buses-to-Sohar-Nizwa
