Muscat: An integrated system for developing the public transport sector will be announced soon, a top official of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MoTCIT) said.
The multi-pronged system includes implementing a public transport strategy with partners from the relevant authorities, issuing a tender to study public transport routes in the governorates, setting up a system for tracking land transport to control weights of buses and trucks.
This was stated by Eng Khamis bin Mohammed al Shammakhi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology for Transport. He added that the public transport sector is one of the sectors that contribute to society development, leveraging the efficiency of the logistics system. The Royal Decree on the Land Transport Law and its executive regulations is the cornerstone from which the regulatory role begins in terms of setting requirements for the provision of public transport services for passengers and goods to regulate the service provided. He pointed to the important role of the “Naql” platform which provides 13 online services.
Al Shammakhi pointed out that the ministry is currently working with Oman National Transport Company (Mwasalat) to establish a bus stop waiting area.
Regarding the establishment of integrated public transport stations, Al Shammakhi said: “We have directed the relevant authorities to activate these stations and the ministry is working with its partners to set up the stations by providing plots and tenders have been floated to implement them. In addition, a guide has also been prepared containing the requirements for the public transport stations which aim to improve public transport services by providing the requisites to ensure a good experience for the beneficiary.”
The under-secretary pointed out that the ministry has recently launched the Aber initiative which aims to adopt smart applications for managing public taxis and announced its plan to implement the initiative on three stages the first of which began on October 1, 2023 to organise public taxis at Muscat International Airport. The second stage targeted Port Sultan Qaboos, hotels and commercial centres, and the third phase targeted roaming taxis.
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