The Muscat Metro won’t be a reality unless an efficient public transport system is established first, according to an official at the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, Speaking to the Observer, Net Zero Consultant at the Ministry, Eng. Abdullah al Busaidi, explained that other forms of public transport must be prioritized before the execution of the Muscat Metro.
“The Ministry is working very closely with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning and different initiatives [will be implemented] where we will try to enable different connections to feed the main metro line, which has been announced recently by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning.” However, he explained “The metro won't come soon. Because you'll need to enable public transportation to feed your main metro [line].” Instead, the Ministry will focus on enhancing current bus routes and introducing other solutions such as ridesharing.
According to Al Busaidi, the Ministry is currently in the process of finalizing a public transport strategy which will be implemented during the second phase of the Green Mobility strategy from 2025 to 2028.
He added that the first enhanced public transportation route will be established by 2026.
Public transport has been identified as one of the solutions to combatting carbon dioxide emissions within the transport sector which amounts to 18 per cent of total emissions in the country.
However, the use of public transit in still not common in Oman as passenger cars amount to 60 per cent of all emissions.
Speaking at the Green Mobility Forum last week, Under-Secretary of Transport Eng Khamis al Shamakhi, identified the low use of public transportation as a significant challenge to decarbonizing the sector.
“Today, we face a challenge in our country as we do not use public transportation preferring to use our own cars instead.” “The change in mindset from individual transportation to public transportation is a challenge we have started working on, but we also need a set of policies to support it.” Al Shamakhi attributed the poor use of public transit to a lack of infrastructure and inefficient routes, areas which will be addressed in the upcoming public transport strategy.
As part of its efforts to establish a green public transport system, the Ministry will utilize biofuels to reduce emissions in the short-term while opting for electric buses for short distances buses, and hydrogen fuel cells for long distance buses in the long term.
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