Raqqa transport, lack of buses and passengers congestion
Raqqa – North-Press Agency
Ahmad al-Hassan
The Internal Transport Department of the local administration and municipalities in Raqqa has provided the city with internal transport buses, following the Civil Council’s approval of banning the motorcycles traffic inside the city center.
Ammar al-Ali, the head of the internal transport office told North-Press that 17 buses belong to the office operate in transport lines in addition to 15 special cars (taxi) operating under conditions set by the office to cover 9 main lines in the city and the nearby villages.
Al-Ali said the city’s internal transportation is still below the required level due to the office’s lack of an adequate number of buses and the required expertise.
Regarding the ability of these buses to accommodate the increasing number of passengers, al-Ali pointed out that the lack of buses’ number created several problems such as the long waiting time for passengers at the bus stops, which may sometimes reach 25 minutes, in addition to the traffic and the inability of the buses to cover all the passengers.
To reduce the traffic, Raqqa Civil Council issued a decision banning the motorcycles from roaming inside the city center, according to the Civil Administration.
Abdullah Suleiman, one of the bus drivers in the city said: “the drivers suffer from the specific bus stops, especially in the main streets, because of the large number of random parking for private cars, and the spread of random stalls.
Mohammed Zidan, another bus driver in the city, said: “To wait for 20 minutes at the bus stops is better than the owners of private cars (taxis) exploitation.”
He pointed out that most of the buses on the transport lines are good and this provides comfort for citizens.
The city of Raqqa witnesses an active movement after the return of the residents to its neighborhoods, especially with the increase in the number of employees committed to specific time hours, in the morning and afternoon periods.