The Public Transport Authority will develop transport systems in 11 cities through advanced technology, said Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Ouhali, its president, adding that priority would be given to densely populated cities.

“Our projects will eventually reach cities across the Kingdom,” Al-Ouhali said in comments published on Wednesday.

“We will resort to the help of the Municipal and Rural Affairs Ministry to classify cities according to their population.”

There will be three groups of cities. These are five major cities, cities with a population of one million to 500,000 and cities with less than 500,000 people.

He said the Transport Ministry had already set out plans for public transport systems in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Makkah, Madinah, Hail, Buraidah, Taif, Hufuf, Abha and Jazan.

“The authority will compete transport plans for the remaining cities,” the president said, adding that it would apply the most advanced systems and technologies to provide ticketing and other services.

He said the authority would raise the standard of public transport in the Kingdom, implement
transport projects quickly and efficiently and take steps to ensure the safety and security of passengers.

“The authority will be responsible for organizing transportation within cities,” Al-Ouhali said.
Metro projects worth nearly SR200 billion have been launched in Makkah, Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.

The Riyadh metro project is expected to begin with 202 carriages and may be increased to 338 to meet possible future demand.

The metro project will have an initial daily capacity of 1.16 million passengers, while the three-line metro project in Jeddah will be ready for passengers by 2018.

 
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