Al-Riyadh

The best way to describe Saudi Arabia these days is that it is a very big workshop. All the government departments and semi-governmental departments and the private sector are busy working. There are efforts, projects, media attention and continuous competition. All of this is concentrated mainly on achievements and work.

However, despite all the hard work, there are many departments that have still not changed and are not reaching the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. Saudi Arabian Airlines and the traffic department are two of them. This is my opinion, but if you ask other people, I am sure that they will agree with what I have said.

It is sad to say that the traffic department has not taken into consideration the fast growing population and modern technical solutions. They did not pay attention to the issue of women driving until it reached the crisis stage. They listed baseless excuses, and ignored the condition of the roads in the Kingdom. Many times they talked about monitoring the movement of traffic using cameras and advanced equipment. That, however, would be a waste of effort if it were not met by real work on the ground.

Traffic problems are not new but the issue is the continual repetition of the same solutions. The bureaucratic committees, traditional data and old methods most of the time lead to the same results. Traffic congestion is made worse by the lack of traffic officials on the ground to deal with traffic problems.

Saudi Arabian Airlines, although it is semi-private after being divided into many companies, is still not improving. People suffer from flight delays and customer service is bad and makes consumers feels that they are at fault. Like the traffic department, Saudia is full of old excuses that are no longer convincing.

It is painful to deal with Saudia. This starts from the time a person intends to fly with them, makes a reservation, pays for a ticket, travels on old airplanes, and finally reaches a destination.

The situation calls for permanent solutions, not shining promises. We cannot afford any further delay.