Eastern Municipality to launch Phase II of bus service trials soon

The Eastern Province Municipality will soon launch the second phase of the trial run of the public transport bus service project for Dammam and Qatif cities.

The first phase started on Oct. 1 by the operator, Saudi Public Transport Co. (SAPTCO).

The second phase of the trial operation will include receiving the passengers on the tracks (second track-Al-Khobar North, seventh track-Dammam King Fahd Airport, and eighth track-Dammam Industrial City II).

The stations and assembly points for passengers have been identified on these tracks, the Mayor of the Eastern Province, Fahad Aljubair, explained in a statement.

The sites of many stations have been prepared, and the rest of the stations on these tracks are being completed, Aljubair added. Some tracks are still in place for trial operation, where the passengers can currently ride from the starting points and the assembly points temporarily, until the actual assembly points for passengers are confirmed and the locations of the stations are determined.

A mobile application was prepared specifically for the project called (Eastern Province Buses) that can be downloaded from e-stores (Android, Apple). Through is a beneficiary can book tickets and know the bus routes, as well as the nearest bus to his location, the Mayor noted.

He also stated that the project includes eight tracks linking centers of Dammam and Qatif, with a total length of more than 400 km, in addition to 212 passenger stations distributed along the routes. It comprises 77 standard buses with a seating capacity of not less than 35, three doors to cover all tracks and a bus interval time on all lines ranging between 15 and 33 minutes.