20,000 buses to ferry pilgrims

JEDDAH: The Car Syndicate has readied more than 20,000 buses to transport 1.7 million pilgrims between Makkah, Madinah and the holy sites during this Haj season, said Marwan Zubaidy, the department’s public relations manager.
“The transport companies under the syndicate have purchased 962 new buses for SR 483 million,” he said.
The syndicate has established 18 maintenance centers on Makkah-Madinah Expressway and Jeddah-Madinah Expressway to repair buses that develop problems during service.
“These centers have been provided with 20 buses to replace those having problems,” Zubaidy said.
The organization has set aside 6,000 buses to provide nonstop service between the holy sites. According to informed sources, plans are under way to establish two new nonstop transport service lines in the holy sites within two years at a cost of SR 980 million.