RTA Sharjah transports 19m passengers in Q3

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) Sharjah has managed to commute 19 million passengers in the third quarter of 2016.
Abdulaziz Al Jarwan, Director of RTA Sharjah for Transport Affairs, said they have transported over 18,879,000 passengers on public buses and taxis over the last three months of this year. "These hit a daily average of 210,000 passengers," he said.
"Making prepaid Sayer e-cards more available onboard, increasing the number of bus stops, and adopting efficient plans for seasons, weekends, holidays, and rush hours also attracted more passengers who can easily inquire about the bus timing and number by simply sending as SMS to 2722."
The significant 11 per cent rise as compared to the same period in 2015 was attributed to the decrease of frequency and increase of vehicles to 97 buses running on nine routes, covering 407km of Sharjah city roads, he explained.
The four franchise cab companies (Sharjah, Emirates, Citi, and Union Taxi) operating here ran 7,835,000 trips, transporting 15,670,000 passengers in Q3, with a daily average of 174,000 passengers, he added.
As for the city buses, these ran 87,561 trips to commute 1,533,000 passengers over the same period, Al Jarwan elaborated. "July was also the highest with 525,813 passengers or 17,000 daily passengers."
The intercity buses did 82,599 trips to commute 1,676,000 passengers over the same period, representing a 15 per cent hike or 17,000 additional trips, Al Jarwan stated. "Our intercity buses have transported 214,000 more passengers in comparison to the same period in 2015."
"The increase is attributed to the introduction of two more intercity bus routes to the 14 routes in service; 313 from Al Rolla square to Dubai International Airport Terminal 2, and 118 from Al Jubail to Al Ain city, while seven buses joined service as well."
Decreasing frequency time was also a big attraction, he pointed out. "We are planning to add 11 buses to our intercity bus fleet to provide a more convenient shuttle service and bring happiness to the public."
Meanwhile, RTA Sharjah staff inspectors have nabbed 946 drivers at hotspots in the emirate for offering unlicensed taxi service in their own private vehicles, in Q3. "This represents a 15 per cent increase as compared to the same period in 2015."
3,854 violations were registered against cabbies and 121 against bus drivers, Al Jarwan disclosed.
The SRTA call centre attended to 197,694 calls during the last three months. "The monthly 65,898 calls spanned 4,166 reports, 2,097 complaints, 1,992 on lost items, and 77 suggestions."
- ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE
• Sharjah