RIYADH, 18 May — Abdullah ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Mugbil, undersecretary for road affairs at the Ministry of Communications and chairman of the Saudi Public Transportation Company (SAPTCO) has said that SAPTCO will soon introduce an exclusive bus service for women.
“Initially we will run this service in the capital (Riyadh). And once we feel that this service is viable, we will expand the operations in Riyadh first and then extend it to other major cities like Jeddah and Dammam,” Al-Mugbil said.
“During the trial period, 12 buses, specially designed for women, will be in operation. These buses will cover major parts of the city, particularly the malls, hospitals, women’s organizations and other destinations frequented by women,” he added.
Al-Mugbil, exuding optimism on the successful implementation of the project, said: “We hope it will prove to be a huge success. Most Saudi women prefer to travel with their family members in their own cars or avail the services of taxis or limousines. But with the introduction of this very convenient service, we hope to encourage women to use our public transportation system.”
He said the decision to introduce the service was made based on surveys which showed 89 percent of the respondent women supported the idea.
“They demanded it to be implemented as soon as possible,” Al-Mugbil added.
According to a source at SAPTCO headquarters here, the service was supposed to be operational by the beginning of the new Hijra year (March 26), but was delayed for logistic reasons. Since the establishment of SAPTCO two decades ago, women have been accorded seats at the rear of the buses. The section reserved for women is separated by a partition conforming to the country’s traditions.
