“The repositioning to a new location near Jeddah’s Old Airport won’t be taking place anytime soon although we purchased a large piece of land near the airport last year,” said Abdurrahman Al-Johani, manager of SAPTCO’s Jeddah branch.
“We’re waiting for the Jeddah municipality to approve the move,” he said, adding that the new bus station, once approved, will have plenty of parking spaces for travelers and a large waiting lounge.
The present bus station has been functioning for over 20 years, and suffers from congestion problems and a lack of car parking spaces.
“I don’t understand why it’s taking such a long time for the station to relocate somewhere better. It’s hard to find parking near the present station. I want to go to Makkah by bus but end up having to get someone to drop me off or come by taxi,” said Faris, a SAPTCO customer.
“The road in front of the station is always congested with cars and taxis. You can’t even see your family or relatives off. You have to drop them near the gate. You struggle to stop as there are no parking spaces and if you leave your car outside for even a short while then a traffic officer will impound it straight away,” said another customer.
No one was available for comment at Jeddah Municipality.
