RIYADH, 18 December 2002 — Saudi Arabian Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) has announced plans to expand its fleet of 2,945 buses to 3,095 following an SR60 million agreement signed between SAPTCO and Al-Jufali Company for supply of vehicles.
SAPTCO has also announced that it will operate a large fleet of Mercedes Benz luxury buses to transport pilgrims during this Haj.
“A total of 150 Mercedes Benz air-conditioned buses will be purchased from Al-Jufali Company under this agreement”, said Abdullah ibn Abdulrahman Al-Miqbel, undersecretary at the Ministry of Communications and chairman of the SAPTCO’s board of directors. With the addition of new buses, the high service level of the company’s operations will be maintained besides expanding the inter-city network.
New buses will also be added to the old fleet operating between Makkah, Jordan and Madinah to cater for the growing needs of transportation during the Haj. Some 11,500 buses were used to transport pilgrims during Haj last year. Saudi Transport Union deployed some 7,000 buses, while SAPTCO operated 600 buses during last Haj. Other local and international organizations also plied their buses alongside.
Al-Miqbel said that SAPTCO has planned to cover 50 percent of the total transport requirement in Saudi Arabia within a few years. SAPTCO, he said, has become a profit making entity with SR70 million net profit generated last year compared to SR42 million a year before. It has been operating buses to various countries, including Gulf countries, Sudan and Egypt.
The SAPTCO was founded 23 years ago under a royal decree with a capital of SR1 billion, divided among 10 million shares of an equal value of SR100 per share. Its services include international transportation, intercity, Umrah and Haj, city service, contracts and charter services, school transportation, limousine and non-postal package delivery services in addition to advertisement on buses.
It expanded its fleet in 1999 when it bought 300 buses worth SR178.6 million from the Juffali group.
