Thursday, Nov 13, 2008
Gulf News
Sharjah: The bus routes in Sharjah are under evaluation in the light of road closures in the city.
"Half of Al Wahda Street is closed so our buses have been delayed. We are planning to divert the route, re-evaluate all the bus routes and possibly merge two or three together," said Fahad Al Awadi, general manager of KGL Passenger Transport Service.
The main roads that are currently under renovation include Al Wahda Street, King Abdul Aziz Road and Cultural Square roundabouts, which all contribute to traffic jams due to the diversions.
The initial plan that was launched one and a half year ago intended to install 18 bus routes but may now be cut down to 15, according to Al Awadi.
"A lot of the roads have been closed since the plan first came out so we had to do a major re-evaluation of the routes," he said, pointing out that the complete bus routes will be ready by next January.
Route number three, the third bus route to operate in Sharjah, will launch tomorrow and will pass through 10 bus stops from Al Taawun Terminal to Wasit Terminal. The new bus route will launch with six buses and have a 20-minute interval at each stop.
Buses of Route three passes through Al Taawun Street, and then follows on to Al Khan Street, Jamal Abdul Nasser Street, Al Khan Corniche, Al Zahra Street, Shaikh Zayed Street, Kuwait Street, Al Azra Area, and then finally to Wasit Terminal.
In order to facilitate transportation within the city, Sharjah Transport Authority recently launched an express bus from Al Saja'a to Al Rolla.
The terminal of Route 88 is located near the cement factory, in front of a small cafeteria.
"At the moment there is no bus stop but we intend to set one up soon," said Fahad Al Awadi, general manager of KGL Passenger Transport Service.
Al Awadi said that the new express bus is very popular among the workers.
"We added the express route because it was urgently needed. Al Saja'a is an isolated place, so there has been a huge response from the workers stationed in the area," he added.
Gulf News 2008. All rights reserved.
