Public transport and its social, cultural, environmental and economic benefits were discussed at the first session of Tracks Forum on Tuesday.

The forum, launched under the auspices of Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communications, is being organised in collaboration with the Cultural Club. 

It was attended by undersecretaries, CEOs, officials from the Ministry of Transport and Communications, intellectuals and media men.

The session, which was held at the Cultural Club covered public transport concept, as well as the social, cultural, environmental and economic benefits it will generate. It also highlighted the aspirations of beneficiaries of public transport services.

The first session hosted officials and specialists from the Ministry of Transport and Communications, as well as public transport companies in the Sultanate namely Ahmed bin Ali Al Balushi, CEO of Mwasalat, Mahdi bin Mohammed Al Abdwani, CEO of National Ferries Company, Yousef bin Ahmed Al Hooti, Director of Special Projects at Ibitkar IT Co. and Eng. Ahmed bin Suleiman Al Ya’arubi, Director of Land Transport at the Ministry of Transport and Communications. After the working papers were presented, there was an open discussion between speakers and guests.

Discussing public transport at Tracks Forum comes due to the remarkable progress witnessed by the Sultanate in road network, connecting all the governorates in the Sultanate. It also comes in a bid to create a broad public transport network that serves citizens, expatriates and visitors. The trend aims at making public transport an alternative to using private vehicles as this will ensure smooth traffic on roads and reduce traffic congestion and environmental effects on cities.

Source: Timesofoman