The current state of transport in the country is skewed in the favor of private car usage and lack of usage of poorly received public transport. Therefore, The Ministry of Transport and Communications is aiming to transform this condition by developing and implementing the Qatar Public Transport Program (QPTP), which was approved by His Excellency Mr. Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti, Minister of Transport and Communications.
This program, currently being implemented by the Technical Affairs Department, is committed to delivering an overhaul of current bus services and will fully integrate with other multimodal transport systems planned for Qatar, thus supporting national economic and social development and providing seamless travel experience and in turn realizing our National Vision 2030.
In order to achieve this program, we have identified several initiatives that will help in revolutionizing how public transport is perceived in this country.
In the interim, we realized that simple and easy to understand public transport information sources are vital to promote, enhance and influence public transport travel behavior. The first step required the development of interim maps that are simple for the public to use across all public transport modes. We developed the following new map that serve much needed value and benefit to the residents of Qatar in accessing information about current bus services and its interaction with other future public transit services planned for Qatar. You may download the higher print quality of this map through the link https://goo.gl/zNRoaV.
The Technical Affairs Department has developed the following guidelines to improve the public transport services particularly namely Bus Network Planning Guidelines, which define the general design requirements for public passenger bus services in respect of on-street routes, service levels and high-level operational requirements within the State of Qatar. The Bus Infrastructure Guidelines will be used to plan, design and deliver high quality, cost effective bus stop infrastructure to support bus services which are responsive to travel demand, and fully integrated with other modes across Qatar.
In order to safeguard the provisions for bus stops required to operate public buses now and in future, The Ministry of Transport and Communications has been reviewing all road projects undergoing design in Qatar irrespective of the stage of design through Bus Stop NOC process. Currently, the NOC applications are paper-based; this process is currently being automated through a web portal that will save time and enhance quality control on submissions and review. The portal is almost ready and about to be launched in the near future.
For any additional information regarding the abovementioned items, kindly contact the Director of Technical Affairs Department.