Khaberni - The Director General of the Land Transport Regulatory Authority, Engineer Riyad Kharabsheh, confirmed that the public transport sector in the kingdom is poised for comprehensive development, which includes adding a number of services, notably electronic payment and tracking systems.
Kharabsheh said during a radio intervention this morning that the authority launched in 2025 the first phase of the project to develop regulated inter-city public transport between the provinces and the capital Amman, involving 127 buses, which connected four provinces to the capital.
He added that as a result of the success of the first phase, the Cabinet approved entering the second phase, which includes operating 180 buses on seven main routes, aiming to facilitate access to Amman and other provinces.
He pointed out that due to the spread of smart apps and private transportation, there was a decline in the use of public transport and a loss of its competitive edge against private cars, which necessitated intervention and the launch of an action program to develop and improve the public transport system in the kingdom, through adding electronic payment services, smart payment systems, television monitoring, and electronic tracking of public transport vehicles.
He noted that the number of public transport vehicles outside the greater Amman Municipality limits amounts to about 5500 buses, of which 800 are large buses and the rest are minibuses, spread over 1075 routes each operated by a single transport mode, and 186 routes operated by about 2500 buses.
He explained that the smart transportation systems that the authority aims to add include television monitoring, electronic payment, electronic tracking, schedules and timetables, and smart applications indicating the bus location and stops, pointing out that implementing these services on 5500 buses all at once requires roughly 150 million dinars, necessitating a decision to phase the work.
He indicated that the first phase was successfully completed, which included 127 buses, and based on feedback, they will enter the second phase which includes 180 buses, eventually reaching 1000 buses, which is the total proposed by the government, confirming that the transport sector is progressing with a practical approach towards ongoing development and improvement.
He added that the development keystones include television monitoring, electronic payment, electronic tracking, schedules and timetables, and smart applications indicating the bus location and stops, indicating that the next phase will see updates and improvements to the infrastructure in cooperation with the Ministry of Municipalities and the greater Amman Municipality.
Kharabsheh said that through implementing the first phase, a control room was established to monitor the buses, where a notification and alert is sent to the driver in case of exceeding the set speed, and in case the observation is repeated, a violation is issued against him and the support is cancelled.
He confirmed that the goal within four years is to generalize the electronic payment system to 5500 buses, to be implemented in stages.
