Inter-Governorate and Amman Transportation

Roya TV conducted an interview with urban planning and architecture consultant Dr. Murad Al-Kalaldeh to comment on the project to enhance transportation between governorates and the capital, launched by the Jordanian Ministry of Transport. Dr. Al-Kalaldeh mentioned several positives of the project, such as:

1. Regulating trip timing and departure frequency in a way that enables citizens to manage their time efficiently.
2. Monitoring transport routes and systems and enforcing adherence to scheduled lines, thereby ensuring dignity for the citizen.
3. Transitioning from chaotic transport to an electronic booking system.
4. Incentivizing operators to receive government support in exchange for reducing emissions that cause global warming and improving air quality.

He also pointed out opportunities to improve public awareness and environmental sustainability through these vehicles, such as:

• Low-service-speed and low-frequency routes must be addressed through the Transit Modes Hierarchy (based on capacity, speed, and surface) and by referencing AASHTO and financial specifications (national, municipal, private).
• Classification of transportation modes into:
  1. Highest Level: Heavy and express public transit.
  2. Second Level: BRT systems (the current project’s buses fall under this category).
  3. Third Level: Light public transport like taxis and shared vehicles.
  4. Fourth Level: Yellow taxis and ride-hailing apps.
• Restricting bus entry to large and busy central areas (especially traffic congestion zones) and using peripheral parking lots.
• Preventing buses from entering central Amman by using outer terminals and parking facilities.
• Buses should arrive at stations in areas like Tabarbour, near Sports City, Zarqa Street, University of Jordan, and more.
• Creating new bus stops in coordination with urban planning.
• Connecting the terminal with Amman’s internal transport via dedicated routes (such as airport road, medical city road, or the ring road in northern Jordan).

Dr. Al-Kalaldeh warned that mixing intercity transportation with internal urban transport doesn’t suit long-distance transport in terms of speed and design. He recommends that half of the fleet be allocated to fixed intercity routes, with the other half reserved for flexible internal transport based on demand (green public transport model), which necessitates dedicated routes.