Muscat: The Muscat Municipal Council recently reviewed the strategic plan for developing public bus services (2015-40) ) as part of efforts to reduce reliance on the use of private vehicles.
A council meeting led by Sayyid Saud bin Hilal al Busaidi, Governor of Muscat and Chairman of the Municipal Council was attended by the chairman of Muscat Municipality and delegates from Mwasalat.
It was revealed that the first phase was between 2015-2018, which saw the introduction of bus services on main and secondary routes, streamlining of taxis, and improvement of the walkways.
The second phase, which started in 2019 and will end this year, includes the expansion of bus services with new routes, dedicated bus lines, and the provision of new bus stations.
The third phase, (2026-2040) will see the development of the Muscat metro and water taxis.
Plans
The Ministry of Transport and Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) will review the Muscat and inter-city services operated by Mwasalat and a tender will be awarded to an international consultant to conduct a thorough study.
All routes of Mwasalat in the capital will be reviewed, including the subsidy which will be decided by the government for each route as part of the improvement plans.
The study will focus on bus route analysis, scheduling, ridership data, and service coverage; as well as the intercity network coverage and cost.
The consultant will be responsible for analyzing demographic and geographic data to identify areas of potential growth and need for additional service in alignment with the structure plans, including the one for Greater Muscat and other cities, that mobility and transport data and analysis.
Water taxis
The proposed water taxi project will be not part of the public transportation system but a tourist service to facilitate the movement of visitors from one attraction to another.
The tender has been already floated and will be awarded this year. Water taxis have been planned for the governorates of Muscat Musandam and Sharqiyah to connect a few areas of tourist interest or attractions.
It won't be a public transport service.
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