MUSCAT, JAN 7 - Mwasalat ferried 5.9 million passengers on all its city routes in Muscat and inter-city services during 2018, an increase of 30 per cent from the figures of 2017.
The last quarter of 2018 saw an average of 19,000 passenger daily and with 24,000 passengers on Fridays. According to the latest data, Omani passengers constituted 40 per cent of the total passengers, indicating an increase in local people’s awareness about the use of public transportation.
More than 46,000 passengers used the bus services in Salalah and Suhar in the first week of their launch on December 28.
The number of public transport routes increased to 34, including the one in Salalah and two in Suhar.
The company operated seven new routes of public transport in Muscat in 2018, taking the total number to 15.
The company also started an integrated services with National Ferries to Musandam and Masirah Island.
Mwasalat appointed 360 Omanis in 2018, taking the Omanisation rate to 95 per cent and the total number to 1,231.
In 2018, Mwasalat launched the first solar-powered passenger waiting station in a step that demonstrates the company’s keenness to use renewable energy as part of its efforts towards preserving the environment.
Mwasalat launched the integrated bus maintenance and service station at Athaiba, which serves the company’s 500 public transport buses of different sizes and uses. The station will create additional 200 direct jobs for Omanis during the coming period.
It plans to launch a mobile application in the first half of 2019 to facilitate booking of tickets online and to subscribe in a variety of packages of tickets.
Also, the app will allow passengers to track the bus movement and view precise data about each bus.
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