AMMAN — The International Association of Public Transport (UITP) and the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) brought together transport authorities, operators and industry representatives from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region on Tuesday and Wednesday for a workshop on the future of bus transport.

 

The two-day UITP MENA Bus Workshop, held under the theme "Transforming Bus Transport in MENA: Leadership, Innovation and Operations", covered leadership, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), service quality, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and emerging technologies.

 

The workshop was opened by Saudi Vice Minister of Transport and Logistic Services Rumaih Al Rumaih, who is also chairman of the UITP MENA Division, and Chairman of the Greater Amman Municipality Committee Ahmad Malkawi.

 

"The transformation of bus transport does not begin with technology or vehicles alone. It begins with leadership," Rumaih said.

 

He said that success should be measured not only by the scale of investment or the number of new vehicles, but by the improvement passengers experience in their daily journeys.

 

UITP Senior Director of Membership and Global Operations Jaspal Singh said that the association's role was "to help cities learn from one another and turn ambition into practical progress".

 

The first day included a leadership dialogue on policy priorities, investment and governance, a hybrid session on BRT operations and integration, and a plenary on ITS, digital transformation and data-driven operations, according to organisers.

 

Speakers from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Chile and the United Kingdom attended the workshop.

 

On the second day, delegates rode Amman's BRT Line 99 on an electric bus and visited several stations, on a tour led by GAM Head of Public Transportation Operations Department Mohammad Sryheen and Executive Director of Public Transport and Transport Infrastructure Development Ola Kafawin.

 

During the tour, a representative of Amman Vision noted that the line is 17 kilometres long with 24 stops between its two terminals.

 

Delegates also visited the Sports City Circle Station, where seven bus lines pass through. The representative described it as a hub linking the BRT with other bus and transport services in the area.

 

Across the sessions, a consistent message emerged: the next stage of bus development in the region will depend on turning shared experience and innovation into practical improvements in planning, operations and service delivery, UITP said in a statement.

 

Continued collaboration between cities, authorities, operators and industry will be essential to translate the discussions into measurable benefits for passengers, it added.