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Another bus route in Sharjah next month

SHARJAH - After the successful trial run of bus route no 14, the Sharjah Public Transport Corporation (SPTC) is planning to start another route by next month.

Fahd Al Awadi, General Manager of KGL-PTS (the Kuwaiti company that's managing the fleet of buses for SPTC), said that the final decision was pending since the infrastructure details were still being finalised.

"We are still contemplating whether we should start a new route or add more buses to the existing one," he explained. Currently, 11 buses are plying on this route.

The new route could be either Line 5 (from Al Taawun Terminal) or Line 8 (from Al Ittihad Terminal to Al Nahda Terminal). "As soon as the infrastructure work is completed, we'll start the routes," he added.

Al Awadi clarified that they were working with the Government of Sharjah to put up the required infrastructure, including bus stop signs, before the two other routes were launched. Already, more than 68 bus-stop signs out of the total 1,300 have been installed. He also said that a report based on the feedback of passengers was being submitted to the SPTC on a weekly basis.

Al Awadi also stressed that the SPTC was currently working on reducing the distance between the recently installed bus stops. "This is being done according to international standards. However, the actual distance depends on the length of the road, though we are suggesting that it be between 300-400 metres," he explained.

"The distance is being reconsidered so that people have a lesser waiting time," he added.

Among other facilities planned for passengers, the SPTC announced earlier this month that 390 air-conditioned bus shelters were also being planned for the emirate besides a dedicated bus lane.