Ministry of Transportation Meets Announces the Issuance of a Tender for a New Bus Operator

The Ministry of Transportation’s Land Transport Affairs issued a new tender that aims to appoint a new operator that will be responsible for operating public buses in the Kingdom of Bahrain. This initiative comes as part of the Ministry’s strategic objective to develop the land transportation sector by providing high-quality public transportation services across the Kingdom of Bahrain which will play a major role in revamping the public transport system.

The project scope will require an Operator to be responsible for the full operation of the buses – including the deployment and procurement of busses and any related equipment . Bidders are expected to respond to the tender by 13th of November which will be evaluated in-line with the Bahrain Tender Board’s policies and procedures from November 2013 – February 2014 before a recommendation and official appointment is made.

As the regulatory authority responsible for enhancing and regulating all aspects of land transportation, the Ministry of Transportation’s Land Transport Affairs will be evaluating bidders based on their experience, portfolio, and service offerings with key emphasis on capabilities for providing innovative solutions that will provide a step-change in the quantity and quality of service as well as the ability to meet the technical requirements prescribed in the project scope. Other main areas that will be considered include health and safety, network efficiency, environmental sustainability, social inclusion and resource allocation.

Upon the contractor’s commencement of operations, the Land Transportation Affairs will be overseeing and monitoring the operator’s performance against pre-set KPIs and specified parameters that aim to maintain optimum service level.

On this occasion, Her Excellency the Undersecretary of Land Transport Affairs Engineer Mariam Ahmed Jumaan stated “The appointment of a new operator will serve as a major leap forward in the development of public transportation in the Kingdom of Bahrain as well as in reshaping the public transport’s image. With increased congestion on the roads, a revamped bus system and network - which includes new stops to enhance connectivity between prime locations – will serve in making public transport an attractive alternative. Our aim is to provide accessible, reliable, and efficient transport services that will serve in increasing demand for the use of public buses and subsequently reduce the use of private cars”.

There is currently one main public transport provider in Bahrain, CARS Transport Corporation - a private operator that was appointed under a concession agreement . At present, CARS provides regular bus services with 10 main routes that call at bus stops according to a public transport schedule.

The Ministry of Transportation is currently working on several projects that aim at boosting the land transportation sector. These include the review of policies and regulations governing the sector’s activities as well as facilities and infrastructure developments such as building new bus shelters/stops and the refurbishment of existing ones to include route maps/schedules and display panels with real-time information on bus arrival times.