JEDDAH, 30 April 2006 — It was business as usual at the bus depot in Jeddah’s historic center yesterday following Thursday night’s fatal bus accident that claimed 24 lives on the road to the holy city of Madinah.
Dozens of unlicensed buses could be seen congregating near the hub of the Saudi Public Transport Co. (SAPTCO), the leading Saudi bus operator, wooing poor expatriate workers away from the pricier tickets.
“I can’t afford to travel with SAPTCO all the time, so in this case I just ride with them and pray to God for safety,” said Ali Athar, a Pakistani worker, as he was about to take a trip to Riyadh with an unlicensed transport operator.
Athar said he had read about the accident and he felt scared of landing in the same situation “especially since I travel a lot in these buses.”
The price of a Jeddah-Riyadh SAPTCO ticket is SR100; but an unlicensed operator will take you to Riyadh for SR30.
Syed Jamal Qadri, a representative of the local Indian community in Jeddah, said that few could compete with rates offered by unlicensed transport operators. “They provide accommodation for a night’s stay in Madinah, a round-trip ticket (Jeddah-Madinah-Jeddah), food and everything, all for just SR60. Who can give so many facilities for such a paltry amount? A lot of expatriates find it convenient and cheaper.”
“But,” Qadri said, “there should be a mechanism of keeping these unlicensed operators in some kind of a check. They should be held accountable. The authorities can very well do it. My heart goes out to all those who lost their lives. May God grant patience to their near and dear ones.”
A source at the Jeddah Traffic Department blamed the bus driver for the accident. “He was passing at high speed,” the source told Arab News yesterday. He, however, clarified that the bus had a license to transport people.
The driver of Thursday’s bus accident, who was among the dead, was identified as Abdul Majeed, a Mali national.
Indian Consul General Ausaf Sayeed told Arab News yesterday that the Indian mission issued no-objection certificates to facilitate the local burial of seven of the 11 Indian victims.
“The consulate staff is extending all help to the families, relatives and friends of the victims of the horrible tragedy,” Sayeed said.
Back at the downtown Jeddah bus depot, Muhammad Salah, a Sudanese who works in Jeddah’s sheep market, said he is aware of the lack of safety in unlicensed buses, but due to his urgent need to go to Madinah and due to his limited budget he had no other choice but to risk the journey.
Drivers interviewed by Arab News openly admitted that they transport passengers without a license to do so, pointing out that they are unable to obtain licenses for older vehicles.
Ahmad Asiri, a Saudi who is in his 40s, owns a 1984 model bus in good condition. He said he is caught in a legal dilemma, unable to obtain a license for his bus and unable to afford the newer models required for the transport license.
“This bus cost me around SR200,000 and I’m having a hard time trying to pull a profit. A new model bus would cost no less than SR500,000. How can I afford to get one?” he said, quickly to assert that he and his fellow bus owners in the area are abiding by safety regulations.
“We have the fire extinguisher and the first-aid kit on board,” he said. “If the driver is drowsy we make him rest and replace him with another driver,” he said.
Mahdi Al-Zahrani, another Saudi bus owner, said that the informal bus operators have formed a union among themselves to regulate passenger distribution among the numerous independent owners.
As far as dealing with traffic police is concerned, Al-Zahrani says drivers often hope for the best.
“Leave it to the grace of Allah. We just go after taking copies of the passengers IDs to submit them on the checkpoint of the city and after that we pray that they don’t stop us,” he said.
Sometimes the traffic police take away the license plates of their vehicles so that they can’t drive. But Al-Zahrani said it is not a problem getting a new plate by reporting the old one stolen. “We always get compensated with new plates and that’s how we go on with our work,” he said.
Saeed Al-Humaidi, another Saudi bus owner, said that in the past it was easier to get an older bus licensed, but not anymore.
“We were allowed to work (with a license to transport people) a few years ago, but new laws prohibits older buses from operating,” he said. “What can we do? We have children to feed. You can’t blame us all for one accident. Actually this accident would make us more alert and try to secure even better safety measures.”
Indian and Pakistani community representatives in Jeddah expressed shock at the loss of lives and called for stringent measures to check the carnage on the Kingdom’s roads.
Afsar Faheem, quality assurance manager at Saudia Dairy and Foodstuff Company (SADAFCO), said the authorities should ensure that those owning such vehicles have some kind of a speed-lock, a mechanism that prevents the bus from exceeding speed limits.
“I know for sure that SAPTCO buses have speed-locks and they cannot drive over 100 km/h. When SAPTCO drivers do speed they get punished both by the traffic authorities and the SAPTCO management. These private parties in transport business should similarly be made to install speed-locks in their vehicles,” Faheem said.
Shahid Nayeem, president of the Pakistan Journalists Forum, said: “Drivers of these private vehicles who are ferrying pilgrims to Madinah should be encouraged and asked to drive during daytime when the visibility is good.”
Jamil Rathore, the forum’s general secretary, suggested that, “Traffic authorities should increase vigilance on the Jeddah-Madinah Expressway to check rash driving. They can install more speed traps. They should be highly visible. Erring drivers should be punished and be made examples of. A stern message should go out to those who either sleep at the wheel or just indulge in rash driving.”
The most gruesome bus accident involving Madinah-bound pilgrims took place on Dec. 15, 2001, when 52 Egyptians were charred to death as their bus caught fire in Aqaba.
In another accident nearly a year later five pilgrims died and 33 were injured when a bus coming from Jordan overturned. Five pilgrims died and about 167 pilgrims were injured in five other bus accidents over the past five years since January 2001, according to Al-Watan Arabic newspaper.
— Additional input from Abdul Maqsood Mirza
