Bus shelters to get facelift

Manama 

Following on from the launch of the new Public Transport Network on April 1, the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications (MTT) has been collaborating with UK-based engineering company Trueform to simultaneously upgrade the supporting infrastructure across the new grid.

The complete shelter rehabilitation project will include the demolition and re-building of approximately 400 existing bus shelters and posts across the Kingdom. The entire project is expected to be completed by mid-2016.

Engineer Mariam Ahmed Jumaan, the Undersecretary for Land Transport and Post Affairs at MTT, stressed the importance of upgrading the supporting infrastructure to ensure a highly-efficient, convenient public transport service is in place.

"As the Ministry responsible for the land transportation industry in Bahrain, we have been working not only on getting an operator in place, but also on the larger infrastructural work required to build a sustainable industry in the Kingdom, which provides convenience, reliability, safety and a comfortable experience for citizens and residents,” she said.

"We are making significant headway with the reconstruction of the bus shelters which is a vital element in the overall implementation of a modern, public transport system. Our aim is to elevate the public transport experience and improve the passenger experience across the entire journey. We are working to make sure that shelter provisions are widely available and easily accessible across the new network," she added.

The renovated open bus shelters come in three different sizes depending on passenger traffic at specific locations. The shelters have been designed to local market specifications and a prototype of the medium-sized shelter is currently up at the Adliya bus stop.

"Once we have the full fleet operational by August, more buses will be on the ground serving the different destinations. The entire network should be fitted out with modern, upgraded shelters by this time next year and we are all working tirelessly to achieve this goal,” Jumaan said.

The MTT is working closely with the general Directorate of Traffic and the Ministry of Works to ensure minimal disruption is caused to traffic throughout the demolition and re-construction project.