Okaz newspaper WHILE you are reading my article today, I may be traveling in a public transport bus or train in Britain's Oxford city. Yesterday I traversed through busy downtown London by using the same public transport system featuring its promptness, speed, and diversity, the metro. Before that I was in the German city of Düsseldorf where I moved about comfortably from one place to another through various means of public transport. But this is not the topic that I want to speak about. I simply mentioned it to draw your attention to the dire necessity of public transport. In these European cities, public transport buses and trains are strictly prompt and punctual. A large number of residents and tourists take advantage of the massive network that operates promptly at a reasonable rate. Traveling in the central area of London city in a taxi can be very expensive. Passengers also bear the additional levy imposed by the London Mayoralty toward reducing traffic jams. According to statistics, some eight million commuters use public transport during peak hours. It is not possible for any city to keep pace with its population growth and urban progress without making available an effective public transport system to facilitate the unhindered movement of its residents. I was overjoyed when I heard about the recent decision of the Council of Ministers to implement a massive public transport system for major cities in the Kingdom, including Riyadh. I am impressed at the follow-up action and directives issued by Riyadh Governor Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz, who is also chairman of Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA), to expedite implementation of the Cabinet's decision in order to ease traffic congestion in the capital city. I see things moving quickly in this respect when I read a newspaper story last week inviting leading companies to vie for qualifying to present bids for implementing the main metro project. Also Prince Sattam chaired the meeting of ADA on Sunday to discuss the matter. Anybody who works in Riyadh or visits the city would realize that we are living in the midst of heavy traffic congestion. It is impossible for one to visit two places, one in east Riyadh and the other in west Riyadh in a single day. The simple reason for this is the huge increase in the number of vehicles on the city streets without having any alternative means of public transport. If people have alternative means of transportation, they would opt for it instead. Whenever we speak about the problem of traffic jams, many draw the conclusion that effective public transport system is the best option in front of us. But how is it possible? Is the metro the ideal solution? The answer is no. The best solution is introduction of the public transport system with all its components, including metro. Prior to introducing this system, we have to see the experiment of the pioneers in this field. Japan, Britain, France, Italy and some other countries have implemented this system successfully. We must coordinate with them to realize our dream of public transport into a concrete reality. For this, ADA and the Riyadh Mayoralty should take initiative to forge strategic alliances with the authorities of these capital cities that have expertise and experience in running this successful arrangement. We should not award agreements to local companies to implement this vital project. Instead, we have to conclude agreements with leading international companies with the involvement of the urban authorities of these capital cities after completing normal procedures of inviting tenders and awarding the project to highly qualified firms. There should not be any role for middlemen in clinching any deals in this respect. Accordingly, Riyadh should be developed into a model city with an effective public transport system, and other cities should follow suit in later phases. The writer can be reached at: mas@ksu.edu.sa __
