Salalah, Suhar city bus services likely

Salalah, Nov 12 - In all likelihood, Mwasalat will simultaneously start its city bus services in both Salalah and Suhar from January next year. A source in Salalah Mwasalat confirmed the city bus services in Salalah will begin sometime in January, while another source expressed hope that the service would begin simultaneously in both cities. Asim Ali al Marhoon, branch officer at Salalah Mwasalat, said that serious efforts are on to start the city bus services in January. The original plan, he said, was to commence the service by end of this year but due to some “pressing issues”, it would be started in January “may be with eight buses, which would be expanded in phases”.

Al Marhoon did not elaborate on the routes, but confirmed the service will cover Salalah Airport, Raysut, central Salalah and Saada. The hub of the service is likely to be located in the Central Market area, which is close to the fish market, Bank Muscat main branch and GTC bus stand. Places for bus stops are being identified by the Dhofar Municipality. It will initially cover educational institutions, hospitals, hypermarkets, industrial areas and the airport. Priority will be accorded to government establishments, where there is a rush for public services such as manpower, visa, vehicle registration and healthcare.

A plan is on to introduce the service beyond Saada, but at a later stage. A local resident hoped the bus service would be extended up to Taqah in the next phase where Integrated Tourism Complex is located with three five-star hotels, including Rotana, Juweira and Al Fanar. These hotels accommodate most of the charter tourists arriving from Czech, Slovakia, Italy, Poland and Russia. There has been a demand from tourists and tour operators for a public transport system beyond the white and orange taxis, as they are, according to tourists, “expensive and not available all the time”.

Some tour operators said the international tourists complain about the high rates of public transport in Salalah because only small taxis are available and that too on ‘engaged’ basis. “I appreciate the news of city bus service in Salalah, which is gaining popularity among European tourists,” said the manager at an international tour agency that deals with charter services.

Kaushalendra Singh