Changes have been made to the new public bus network in Bahrain following a nationwide survey, it was revealed.

Some of the bus lines have been reduced, while many have had amendments made to their schedules and an entire new route from Manama to Salmabad has been introduced, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The changes have been integrated into the new system operated by Bahrain Public Transport Company (BPTC), which will cover 77 per cent of the country as opposed to the old bus lines that covered only 35 per cent.

The network will be fully implemented next month, when a total of 32 lines will be operational and a new smart card ticketing system will be introduced.

“What we’ve sought to do is listen as much as we can to customers and made a huge amount of changes as a direct result of that interaction,” said BPTC director Mark Kipling.

“We have had most of our managers at the Manama terminal these past three months, in direct interaction with the customers, taking down notes and seeing what people want.

“We have as a result reduced a couple of routes and simplified a couple of others, but most of the complaints have been about waiting times and frequency so we tried to increase a few of the lines.

“In one instance, we put in a whole new route from Manama to Salmabad because the request came up very often very early on.

“Our control centre is up and running in Isa Town, with six staff and a couple of analysts as we are gathering an enormous amount of data, the quality of which will be hugely helpful when the smart cards come in play.”

He was speaking at a Press briefing along with Transportation and Telecommunications Ministry Land Transport and Post Affairs Under-Secretary Mariam Juman at the ministry’s headquarters in the Bahrain Financial Harbour.

Juman said a secondary control centre will be established within the ministry’s grounds to monitor the network.

“The control centre will be in constant contact with the drivers to let them know if they’re running late, if there are any issues on the road, with road works or accidents, to tell them to take an alternative route,” she explained.

“That is the Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) system, which has provided us with massive amount of information.

“(Using this), we are going to set up departure boards in October and November in the main bus terminals, which will show the departure times for each of the buses and give people an idea how long the wait will be.

“We’re looking at doing that at bus stops as well, but that will be part of the next plan.”

She also spoke of long-term plans for the new system, which include implementing weekly and monthly tickets.

“Not everyone visiting Bahrain will have access to a car, but we want them to be able to get around easily,” she added.

“People are seeing a difference and what we aim and hope for is that they can someday use public transport, not as a last choice, but as the main choice.

“We have implemented a daily ticket of 500 fils, of which over 3,000 are sold on average per day, and make up over 20 per cent of daily ticket sales.

“We are thinking of implementing weekly, monthly and even yearly tickets with the introduction of the smart ticketing initiative.

“However, while we would like to decrease the value of the seasonal tickets, this is backed by the government so we would need to get permission first for discounts.

“We also need to raise awareness, as currently three-quarters of bus shelters are used as car parks.

“People need to understand that it can be dangerous for buses because they then have to stop on the road and it will inconvenience many 
people.”

The fleet of buses went from 35 under the old system to 141 new-look vehicles working by next month.

Buses run from 5.30am to 10.30pm daily, but run until 11.30pm during Ramadan. - TradeArabia News Service