Khaberni - The Land Transport Regulatory Authority stated that the work on the project to support the transportation of public university students began in 2011, with the purpose of encouraging students to use public transportation, following the approval by the Prime Minister to support student fares at 50% of the approved tariff rate. The Authority added that the project will soon switch to an electronic payment system.
The Authority, in response to a question posed by MP Tariq Bani Hani, explained that the current support mechanism relies on paper procedures, due to the lack of direct connection between the databases of the universities, the Ministry of Higher Education, and the supervising authority, necessitating manual and paper verifications to confirm the data of the benefiting students.
The Authority pointed out that it is currently working on transferring to a comprehensive electronic payment system, which will unify and update the student database automatically, through direct linkage with the Ministry of Higher Education via the "Sanad" platform to verify the academic status and regular attendance of students.
The new system includes verification of the student’s identity and university ID by issuing a smart card or a dynamic Quick Response (QR) code that can only be used by its owner, in addition to adopting a unified electronic registration in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Amman Vision Company.
The Authority aims through this project to develop an integrated smart transportation system, transitioning from limited manual methods to a comprehensive and unified electronic system, capable of documenting all service elements with accuracy and transparency.
The proposed system includes electronic payment via smart cards or QR, vehicle tracking systems (GPS) around the clock, and surveillance cameras inside buses to enhance safety, in addition to full electronic linkage with the "Sanad" platform to verify student data and their academic regularity.
According to the Authority, financial clearing operations will be conducted electronically via the (Clearing House) system, ensuring that every trip is documented instantaneously, and support is calculated based on actual usage only, with accurate periodic reports issued about the number of trips, the number of benefiting students, the cost of support, and performance indicators.
The Authority currently studies the technical and financial offers submitted by Amman Vision Company to implement the comprehensive electronic system, indicating that the project is expected to start and the new system to operate by the beginning of the second academic semester, in the first quarter of 2026, after completing the referral procedures and adopting the technical and regulatory requirements.
The number of buses operating within the project is 596, while the annual support value for the year 2024 reached about 9.75 million dinars.
