RIYADH: The Royal Commission of Riyadh City announced the launch of the first phase of the Riyadh bus service with more than 340 buses on 15 routes under the King Abdulaziz Project for Riyadh Public Transport.
The ambitious public transport project is set to have 633 stations and stops within the Riyadh Buses network, which in total, consists of 86 routes.
The bus network will encompass 1,900 km after all five phases become operational by the end of 2024.
The network is set to exceed 800 buses with more than 2,900 stations and will include an integration of metro trains and buses.
The total value of the project is estimated to be $22.5 billion and will reduce the number of car trips by approximately 250,000 trips per day.
The Riyadh metro will have six tracks with 85 stations with a total length of 176 km.
The first phase is being developed as one of the strategic projects aimed at serving the city’s mobility needs, bringing a qualitative boost to the public transport sector, enhancing the connectivity of parts of the capital and raising the level of quality of life for its residents and visitors.
The project includes the launch of an online portal for passengers to know the bus routes as well as purchase tickets for Riyadh buses.
Passengers can purchase a trip ticket on board Riyadh buses for SR4 ($1.07), valid for two hours from the first login on one of the buses or by activating the ticket through the application.
The Kingdom’s transport sector witnessed massive improvements under the national initiative Vision 2030.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently announced the launch of a new national airline, Riyadh Air, which is wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund.
The airline seeks to enable Riyadh to become a gateway to the world and a global destination for transportation, trade and tourism.
Operating from the Saudi capital as its hub, the airline is expected to add $20 billion to the Kingdom’s non-oil gross domestic product growth and create more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs.
