DAMMAM, 28 July 2003 — Private operators of land transport to various destinations in the Kingdom as well as to neighboring states have reduced their fares by nearly 30 percent, providing stiff competition to the state-run Saudi Arabian Public Transport Company (SAPTCO).
In a bold move, land transport operators in the Eastern Province agreed among themselves to reduce fares to several domestic destinations as well as to some Arab and GCC countries in order to attract more passengers and compete with SAPTCO.
The land transport business has been in recession for a long time with its only boom period during Haj.
The industry has now unanimously decided to reorganize itself and work in unity as a force.
The recent reductions will make journeys to Egypt, the UAE, Syria, Qatar and some other GCC countries much cheaper. A report in an Arabic daily said that the fare to Egypt has been reduced from SR200 per passenger to SR140 while a one way trip to Syria will now cost SR100 instead of SR150. Similarly the companies will now charge a fare of SR60 per passenger for a single trip to Madinah.
Fares to Jeddah, Makkah and some other destinations have also been drastically reduced.
In addition to reducing fares, the private transporters are also embarking on a plan to improve services. They are working to refurbish the existing fleets and buy new buses. Some operators are also equipping their buses with the latest gadgets to make the long journeys as pleasant as possible.
SAPTCO charges SR200 for a single trip to Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah. Its fare is high on routes such a those to Egypt, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria and the UAE.
SAPTCO has already suffered a setback in city transport as very few commuters are seen on its buses between Dammam-Alkhobar. Its erratic services and inconvenient routings are said to be the main cause of its failure in city transport.
Ironically, private taxis as well as yellow cabs and limousines are doing a thriving business in carrying passengers within the city limits.
Substantial revenue for SAPTCO comes from schools to which it leases its buses. If any of the schools cancel the lease and decide to manage their own fleet, then SAPTCO will be in even deeper trouble. Transport industry experts say that it is time for SAPTCO to reorganize and restructure its fares.
