RIYADH, 1 August 2004 — The Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) has signed an SR14 million contract for providing transport facilities to 9,000 Saudi girls studying at King Saud University here.
“One hundred mini-buses will be deployed on the streets of Riyadh to transport the university students from their homes to their colleges, “ a SAPTCO spokesman told Arab News .
He said the new campus service will be introduced from the forthcoming academic year which begins in September.
The spokesman explained that female undergraduate students will be picked from their homes and dropped at the KSU colleges in Oleisha, Malaz and university campus. The students will be ferried back home after their classes at a scheduled time, he added.
“Brand new luxury mini-buses will be deployed and their drivers carefully handpicked to offer a good service to its pasengers,” the spokesman said, adding that all the windscreens of the vehicles are tinted to ensure privacy of the female pasengers.
SAPTCO has a fleet of 2,741 modern buses of different capacities and sizes that operate 579 daily scheduled trips, connecting 362 cities, towns and villages Kingdomwide as well as to international destinations.
In Riyadh, the old SAPTCO coaches have been replaced with new vehicles to provide comfort to the passengers.
Besides the VIP express service from Riyadh to Alkhobar, SAPTCO has lately introduced a similar service between Makkah and Madinah. “Our new service will take you in total comfort and style from hotel to hotel, non-stop,” said the spokesman. He added that during the journey, passengers will be offered complimentary soft drinks, tea and coffee, snacks and newspapers. The one-way fare is SR80.
Regular international services are available by land to countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Syria, Turkey, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Children between two and 12, and disabled persons travel at half price. Also, one authorized companion for each disabled passenger is allowed to travel at half fare.
Students are entitled to a “free return” on production of student identification. It is a round-trip ticket for the price of a single, a 50 percent saving.
It has introduced a new services from Riyadh, Baha and Buljrashi. The other new route is between Hail and Al-Ula which is close to the major historical site of Madain Saleh. Buses also run to Al-Ula from Madinah and Tabuk.
