Saudi Gazette report

MAKKAH — Prince Saud bin Mishaal, deputy emir of the Makkah region and member of the Board of Directors of the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites, made on Tuesday an inspection tour of the Makkah Buses Project.

It is the first public transportation project in the Kingdom that aims to develop transportation services in the holy capital of Makkah. The deputy emir was briefed on an introductory presentation about the Makkah buses, including the most prominent technologies used, surveillance and audio systems, and advanced cooling systems. He also inspected the monitoring, control, and simulation rooms.

Prince Saud boarded a bus, taking him to the bus shelter, which includes eight facilities, and listened to a briefing about the Makkah Buses Project, which covers most neighborhoods of Makkah in the first phase. This includes 12 routes with a distance of 580 km and 431 stations and 400 buses, 240 of which are regular public transport with a capacity of 40 seats and a capacity of 85 passengers, and 160 articulated public transport buses with a capacity of 60 seats and a capacity of 125 passengers.

The project serves the central region through four stations such as Al-Marwa Station, Jabal Al-Kaaba Station, Ajyad Station, and Ibrahim Al-Khalil Station. The number of bus users since the launch of the project has exceeded 161 million passengers.

The CEO of the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites, Eng. Saleh Al-Rasheed, appreciated the visit of the deputy emir of Makkah. “These projects come within the directives of the Royal Commission for Makkah City and the Holy Sites to improve the quality of services provided to the residents of Makkah and its visitors. This is also aimed to raise the quality of the infrastructure of the transportation network and facilitate movement for the residents and visitors of Makkah,” he said.

It is worth noting that the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites has won two awards for the Makkah Bus Project. They are the Labbaytum Award for Excellence granted by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, and the Makkah Excellence Award for Hajj and Umrah Services presented by the emirate of the Makkah region.