2014

Passenger transport

Noora Alhajri 201000277

Maryam aljaber 201000125
Fatima Janahi 201000108

Assessment Cover Sheet

Complete and attach this cover sheet to your assessment before submitting

Assessment Title

Assessment 2

Programme Title:

BILM

Course No.:

Passenger transport

Course Title:

TLB6300

Student Name:

Noora AlHajri, Fatima Janahi, Mariam AlJaber

Student ID:

201000277, 201000108, 201000125

Tutor:

Andrew

Due Date:

8th June 2014

Date submitted:

8th June 2014

By submitting this assessment for marking, either electronically or as hard copy, I confirm the
following:

This assignment is my own work

Any information used has been properly referenced.
I understand that a copy of my work may be used for moderation.
I have kept a copy of this assignment
I have read and/or attached the Turnitin Originality Report

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Table of contents
Introduction

The future of network plan

Mode 1: LRT

Mode 2: Monorail

12

Mode 3: BRT

19

Sustainability

30

GCC railway

31

Conclusion

32

References

33

Introduction
Bahrain a small country with a population of almost million inhabitants has a very poor public
transport infrastructure. A SWOT analysis was conducted to examine the nature of Bahrains
public transport and various challenges and threats were found, however, various opportunities
for investments and infrastructure enhancement were recognized as well. The main figure found
was that only 1% of the entire population use public transport. Therefore, various plans were put
in motion to improve the public transport in Bahrain in order to encourage passengers to use it
especially that it is predicted that the number of cars in Bahrain will increase to 2.5 million
vehicles. Bahrain has a strategy for its public transport for 2030 which states that, the visionary
framework for the improved public transport shall make more than 30% use it (TradeArabia,
2011). According to the strategy, the service would be cost-effective, reliable, has mix-use of
technologies and multimodal activities. This report will be discussing the plans expected for the
public transport in Bahrain to take turn into. It will focus on three main modes which are: Light
Rail Transit Network (LRT), Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), and Monorail.

The future network plan for integrated public transport system

Mode 1: Light Rail Transit & Tramway

This part of the paper will outline the first phase in Bahrains future public transport network
which includes tramways and light rail transit (LRT). There have been various plans in regard to
this matter all in which will be demonstrated later.
-

Purpose for choosing LRT & Tramway (Benefits):

This mode was chosen to be implemented in Bahrain due to the various benefits related to the
establishment it, these benefits are divided into three main parts: Economic, Environmental, and
Public transit benefits. On an environmental basis, establishing LRT in Bahrain will reduce massive
amounts of green house gases and it will decreases the amount of fuel consumption within the
country by using renewable sources of energies and by reducing the number of cars on roads. As
from an economical view, the LRT and tramway system could provide both benefits for passengers
and the government, for instance, the passengers will save huge amounts on car related expenses
such as fuel prices, insurance, vehicle maintenanceetc. Meanwhile, LRT can be beneficial for the
government because it will provide more working opportunities for people (around 20,000 jobs)
and it will attract tourists to use it more (Ottawa light rail, 2013). Lastly, the public transit
benefit, it represent in increasing the capacity of roads by reducing the number of vehicles on it
where it has been stated that the LRT and Tramway systems in Bahrain will manage to carry a
total capacity between 3000-6000 passengers during peak times (Ministry of Works, 2011).
Furthermore, LRT will help reducing congestion and traffic jams by allowing passengers to alter to
public transport and thus reduce their need for cars. Continually, it will provide a safe, reliable,
comfortable, fast, and an accessible service that would encourage passengers to use it more and it
is projected that 25% of Bahrains population are going to use it in the future (TradeArabia, 2011).

Challenges:

As for the challenges related to LRT & Tramways represent in the renewal of infrastructure,
Bahrain has a small land space which limits the opportunities to build huge tracks and lanes,
therefore, the construction phase is going to be difficult especially with the current infrastructure
and the narrow roads. Continually, another challenge faced is pushing people to use LRT system
where 97% of the population is used to using their private cars. Lastly, and most importantly, the
energy challenge where Bahrain needs to access other energy fuel sources to operate the fleets
since the oil reserves in Bahrain are small (Lawrin, 2011).
1) Characteristics
The Light Rail Transit Network & tram-trains is going to have a network of 85 kilometers and
consists of three lines; the first line (purple) will cover 32km and it will have 18 stations and 4
interchange stations and a spacing of 2km walking or cycling between each station. It will carry up
to 750 passengers with 40kmph speed (5000 passenger for the entire network) (Ministry of
Works, 2011). Meanwhile, the second line will cover 33Km, 18 stations and 4 interchange stations
as well. It will carry up to 6000 during peak times (entire network), 800 per train, with a speed of
40kmph and coverage of stations is 1.8km by walking and cycling as well (Green). The third line
which is tram-trains will cover 20km and it has 20 stations with 5 interchange ones and a
passenger ridership of 450-500. The stations spacing is less than 1km (blue). All the three lanes
will have connection with each other at least in one station and also with other modes. The LRT
systems will have exclusive running ways with special tracks for it only; meanwhile the tram-trains
will operate on a dedicated running lane in the road along with cars but with kerbs to prevent
from sharing the line and also it has the capability of moving in the city on normal roads which is
beneficial to avoid costs of construction. The LRT network will be operating on electricity
generated by renewable energies (solar energy) (Green light for light rail, 2011).

2) Routes for the LRT network in Bahrain

The main routes that will be covered by the LRT network are as numerous, for instance, the first LRT line
which is the green one will be covering the most important areas in Bahrain especially for tourists and
cargo agents, where it will link the Bahrain international airport in Muharraq with the future project of
Bahrain-Qatar Causeway, several number of cities will be covered by this line, for instance, Busaiteen,
Manama, Tubli, Zinj, Isa town, East Riffa, and Askar. The existence of such route will give the opportunity
for passenger to travel from the north of the kingdom to the extreme south. Plus, this route will be
connected via BRT system to Durrat Al Bahrain, and it will have 4 interchange stations to shift the model

with other LRT or monorail or tram-trains or BRT. Also, it has access to taxi services and feeder buses
stations.
The Purple line is another LRT line that mainly connects major areas with residential cities and some
landmarks. The purple line has 18 stations and 4 interchange ones, it will connect areas such as, Jidhafs,
with Hamad Town and shakir for the University of Bahrain. Also, it will link these areas with the Bahrain
international circuit, this line will mainly be focusing on the western side of the island and the main
interchange station is the one it has with the GCC railway. Also, this line will have a BRT system link at its
end for Durrat Al Bahrain.
The blue and the last line in the LRT system is tram-trains, this line will connect the east of the kingdom
with the west, by providing various stations between Budaiya and Juffair, this line will pass through the
CBD near Seef Mall, Bahain mall, Manama till Juffair. This line will have 5 interchange stations with other
modes and LRT systems; also, it can utilize normal roads as well. It will be connected to pedestrians and
biking facilities as well to ease the access for service.
3) Infrastructure
Bahrain has a radial network design, all the congestion is focused mainly in the CBD, most of the arterial
routes and highways will be used for LRT systems. The main LRT and tram-train infrastructure is in the
trucks, as abovementioned, the vehicles will have a specific way to run on each will be provided with
specialized trucks embedded on the road along the entire network (Badia, 2014). Continually, the
infrastructure includes the stations and the interchange stations, each station will be accessible by walking
or cycling, in case of interchange stations, there will be park and ride spaces built around the CBD in LRT
stations. Regarding the traffic management systems, the exclusive bus only lanes will be built to
accommodate driverless LRT vehicles where it will run on a track for up to 100kmph speed without stop
(Lawrin, n.d.). As for the dedicated running lane they will have a priority passage along with BRT systems
and emergencies cars. The exclusive lanes will have platforms placed in the middle between normal roads
and exclusive ones, and pedestrian bridges and biking lanes will be built near those areas to maintain safe
loading and disembarking of passengers. The responsibility of infrastructure handling and maintenance for
LRT lies with the government since most of the future projects will be owned by them.

4) Ownership
The LRT and tram-trains fleet will be jointly owned by the government and the private sector (the company
providing and leasing the vehicles), the government will be responsible for the infrastructure construction
and the regulating of the LRT system, plus, they will be responsible for the funding which costs $1.5 billion
to establish. The main purpose for choosing a public private partnership (PPP) is because it utilises the
countrys assets in a correct manner to benefit all PT users. Continually, it enhances the quality of the
services provided where the private partner will focus on the quality control for the LRT. Lastly, and most
importantly, the jointly owned projects are usually speedy, efficient and delivered faster than government
owned ones. The government needs to own the project as well because the LRT system is expensive by its
nature in comparison to other public transport modes; therefore, the government involvement is needed
to carry out the massive funding and also to subsidies the services to become more accessible for
passengers to use it within Bahrain (Advantages of PPP, n.d.).

5) Service standard
The market segmentation in Bahrain is targeting passengers with high mobility and access to private and
comfortable cars, therefore, the level of service provided must be equivalent for them to use. The Light Rail
Vehicles (LRVs) will have low floors parallel to the platform to make boarding easier especially for the
disabled; the material used for the vehicles will be light and energy conserver and it is an articulated
vehicle (Transit Technology, n.d.). In order to provide the maximum quality, all the LRVs will be Airconditioned with comfortable seating, similarly for the LRT system stations which will be provided with
comfortable shaded waiting area. Also, the platforms will have small markets within them for passengers
refreshment (TradeArabia, 2010). Continually, various technologies will be implemented in the rail to give
better services which are already implemented in Singapore, for instance:

Communication systems: the communication system within the LRT combines data, voice, and
video communication networks, A SDH transmission backbone installed to support communication
link between all the stations and the operation control centre (OCC). Furthermore, LRT will use
radio communication and direct line telephone system to communicate directly with OCC, other
LRT staff (drivers and maintenance), and passengers. A closed circuit television system will be

installed to provide real-time images of passengers for security purposes (CCTV). Finally, Public
address system on board which is responsible for broadcasting information and timings for
passengers (Land transport authority of Singapore, n.d.).

Building management system (BMS): monitors the all electrical and mechanical services in LRT
(air-conditioning, escalators, fire-alarm...etc.) (Transit Technology, n.d.).

Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS): service allowing back-up power in power failure events
(Transit Technology, n.d.).

Passenger Information Display (PID): LRT system which displays the messages on a board for the
passengers showing events (arrival/departure), timings, and operation schedule (Transit
Technology, n.d.).

6) Operating system

Fleet and operations: The LRT for the first line (purple) will start its journey from Hamad Town
(Sakhir) and finish it in Al-Hidd industrial area. Meanwhile, the second (green line) will start from
Askar till Muharraq. The tram-trains (pink) will start from Budaiya till Manama. The LRVs will be
passing through all outlined stations back and forth for more than 50 times a day with maximum 10
minutes waiting time. There will be LRT system consisting of 10 trams on the purple line, on the
green line there will be a 16 trams consisting LRT, and for the train-trams there will be 8 to cover
the demand. The LRT systems will be kept where the journey starts.

Working hours: The working hours for the entire LRT network will be from 5am-1am during
weekdays, and 5am-3am during the weekends. The main reason for sparing 3 to 4 hours per day is
to have the vehicles checked and maintained in order to operate without faulty and to reduce
chances of risk occurring. The timings were chosen from 5am-1am because most jobs in Bahrain
start at 6:30 and after thus 5am trips are needed, and most restaurants and shops close at 12, thus
1am is the last trip unless it was the weekends.

Fares and ticketing systems: The ticketing system will be calculated on a zone structure, where
charge will be accumulated based on the zones entered. There will be different types of fares for
different kinds of passengers; there are students, commuters, and tourists. The type of fare will

vary according to the need and the seating class as well. This table shows the pricing for the LRT
system.

Category

Price per day

Price Per Month

Platinum

BD2.000

BD 57.000

Gold

BD1.800

BD50.00

Silver

Fils0.900

BD25.00

Economic

Fils0.400

BD10

Special needs/Students

Fils0.200

BD5

There will be various ways to purchase these tickets, for instance, it can be issued from vending
machines, or by using smart cards which could be filled regularly to access the LRT network, or by
obtaining a card for all modes from the markets in the platforms; the Opal card as it is called in
Sydney, is a card that allows convenient access for all LRT systems and also the monorail and the
BRT as well, it is good for tourists since they will need to move around the city a lot without having
access to a private car. The Opal card works similarly to an e-tag, or an ID card, it only needs to be
scanned then access for LRT will be granted and it helps in counting the number of passengers on
board and the ones disembarked (Sydneys light rail future, 2013).

Mode 2: Monorail
-

Purpose for choosing Monorail (Benefits):

One of the main reasons for choosing monorail system for Bahrain is due to several factors, first,
the increasing number in population which would lead to increasing number of cars and thus
congestions. The capacity of the streets and the area factor played major role as well where
Bahrain has narrow road networks and very poor infrastructure to build on, the land width isnt
capable enough of carrying enough infrastructure improvements. Continually, social factors
contributed by the increasing travel demand and number of tourists during the weekends. A new
system is needed in order to solve all those problems. Mono rail is a type of public transport which
is used in many countries such as, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. Mono means one so the mono
rail means one rail. Another benefit of using it is instead of metros was because of Bahrains
topography which is shallow so building underground system would be challenging and using
monorail would be ideal (Gulf daily news, 2011).
-

Challenges:

Although the vehicle used for monorail is not very expensive, the costs for construction an
elevated tracks is very prohibitive compared to other public transport modes and it would take
long waiting time for the project to finish. Continually, in regard to safety issues, monorails
operate on a fly-above, therefore there are no safe emergency exits in case of accidents. As well
as when it comes to repairs, it can be very difficult to fix a monorail and considered one of the
main drawbacks for using it (TradeArabia, 2007).
1) Characteristics
The main characteristics about Monorail is that is the most environmentally friendly in the world
as it was claimed by a spokesman from EAG Capital, the amount of carbon foot produced will be
very minimum compared to other modes and produces less noise. It helps reducing emissions by
more than 58 tons (TradeArabia, 2008). Since the monorail system uses electricity there is little

noise pollution which helps the monorail system to be built next to houses which means it might
be accepted by society. Furthermore, the prices for monorail construction will be $1.7 billion; it
will have a sleek design and lighter weight than all other modes. The length of the network for the
monorail is 29Km, it will include 18 stations and 5 interchange stations. According to the table
below, the monorail capacity is estimated to carry 138 people for the medium size; however,
Bahrains monorail system will carry up to 300. As for its speed it is expected to be from 35kmph
to 45kmph (System capacity, n.d.).

2) Infrastructure
The main infrastructure included in a monorail is the elevated tracks where it will have a separate
track above the street, it will have rubber wheels rolling on those tracks, there will be special
escalators in the terminals for boarding of passengers and it will have various stations and stops
along the way. The monorail will be running on an exclusive line that no other mode or rails can
operate on (Infrastructure of Sydney monorail, n.d.). Plus, it requires 1.00 M wide space and the
column size is 0.8M x 1.5 M while the height is 6.5 M which means that the infrastructure for the
monorail will not interact with flow of vehicles on the roads as it is flyover. Constantly, it will
consist of a traction feeder which will empower it with electricity for it to operate. The monorail
system will not be needing drivers they most likely be auto-piloted from the OCC. The
maintenance of infrastructure of Monorail will be the governments responsibility (monorail
construction, n.d.).

3) Routes for monorail

The main routes that will be covered by the monorail are mainly in the northern area of the island,
covering a network of 29km and 18 stations, the trip will start from the west in Budaiya and it will
head north towards the northern western region where all the new projects are being built and
the future islands, also the route will pass by Reef Island at some point and then move towards
Manama till Juffair. The monorail will have 5 interchange points where passengers will be able to
disembark and shift their mode of transport in case they were heading into another destination.
Also, taxies will be available in those areas where most of them are located in the CBD which is

most crowded. Theres a possibility that another line will be joint from the terminal in Juffair and
extended to AlHidd Industrial Area.
4) Services Standard
The services provided in the monorail system are very important as these services will help in
customer satisfaction and efficiency in services. In the stations there will be small shops that sell
snacks, vending machines and there will be free Wi-Fi for customers to use. On the train it will be
air conditioned as Bahrain weather is very hot and there will be two types of carriages and
vending machines for passengers with health problems and the disabled. There will be a VIP
carriage which will cost more 0.700 fils compared with the normal carriage of 0.300 fils. The
reason for the VIP carriages is for culture and religious reasons as woman are not allowed to sit
next to men or they dont feel comfortable. Moreover, to improve the standards of services an
electronic ticketing system was implemented in the monorail:

Ticketing system: Octopus card is one of the great examples on the implementation of
technology in the public transport sector is Hong Kong. As there public transport has many
modes of transport they introduced the Octopus card. It a new innovation in integrated
ticketing system as people using the public transport will buy a card, fill it up with money
and then just swipe the card on a machine to get through to the modes of transport they
are using. The advantage of using this type of integrated ticketing system, that it reduces
queues and more efficient in loading and unloading of passengers (Octopus card, n.d.).
The technology that will be used for the monorail system in Bahrain will be the identical of
Hong Kong because of the huge benefits it gives. To ride the monorail system the customer
must first buy a card from any cold store available in the Bahrain for the price of 2 dinars
or from any of the ticking offices in the stations. Then the customer must recharge the card
with whatever amount they wish to continue using the monorail system. The card will also
be usable for other transport modes provided by the government (Octopus card, n.d.).

The price of the rides will be 0.300 fils per ride so that everybody in the society can use it.
The use of this intelligent card will not keep people waiting and frustrated, therefore it will
help in customer satisfaction which is needed for the monorail system to be successful.
5) Ownership
The type of ownership that will be chosen for the monorail system will be the Public Private
Ownership (PPP). The Public Private Ownership refers to, the government and the private
business are jointly in the project, and however, it is funded by the government. A contract will be
signed between them which will include that the private business offers public service and the
public sector will take responsibility of finance and operational measures. The responsibility for
repairing the monorail will fall in the private companys job as the government will mainly focus
on regulating the business (Resource book for PPP, 2004).
The main benefit in using (PPP) is that the partnership between the two sectors will help the
operation and procedure of the monorail system. The private sector will focus on gaining profit
from the monorail system and the public sector will make sure that quality of service is provided
as the public sector looks at the benefits of the community. The Public sector will own the
transport system and will have the right in changing anything they want in the transport system.
The private sector will only focus on the operations of the monorail system and will be monitored
by the government on the quality provided. Therefore the government will regulate the monorail
system and will put in the rules and regulations that they see fit for the customer and the
operating company (Resource book for PPP, 2004).
The operators that will handle the monorail system in Bahrain will be Bangkok Mass Transit
System public company BTS. The reason for choosing BTS as the operator handler for the monorail
is that they are running a project which is called Jakerta Monorail and they have vast experience in
the market (Resource book for PPP, 2004).

6) Operating system

Fleet and operations: The journey taken by the monorail in Bahrain will start from Budaiya
and ends in Juffair, it will take circular rounds for 65 times a day to provide a reliable good
service for the customers with maximum 5 minutes waiting.

Vehicle Management and Maintenance: Vehicle management and maintenance is very

important for the operation of the monorail system as it will have maintain the safety and
efficiency of the vehicles being used to distribute the customers and it will help in making
the operation of the vehicles must longer therefore cutting out extra costs. A result of poor
maintenance is a poor strategy which could lead to the monorail system to fail. The best
way to maintain the monorail system efficiency is for the operator and fleet manager work
together in implementing policies for the monorail system maintenance to ensure quality.
The monorail system will need an ongoing and excellent maintenance schedule for a safety
environment and clean conditions in operation. Therefore, the most successful way of
doing it is through a specified checklist that has all factors of the monorail system which
are frequently examined to see it the train is fit for operation. It is also a way in to
guarantee train safety, track safety and operation flow (Maintenance manual, n.d.).
The maintenance plan for the monorail system will be a fixed strategy that will be followed
by employees. First, an inspection on the train will be done to know where the train needs
to be fixed. Then the mechanic will decide what is required to be fixed and what not. After,
the decision on the maintenance the mechanic must identify the work needed and the
parts to fix. Then the maintenance is in progress and when it is done details must be
recorded for future check. Finally a final checkup is done to decide the when the next
maintenance is due (Maintenance manual, n.d.).

Working hours: The working hours for the monorail system will be done to satisfy the
customer to delivering them to their destination. The monorail system will start at 5 in the
morning for the labor works to use and will end at 10 at night. Peak hours will be from 6:30

till 9 and at 2 to 4 in the afternoon, as these are the time the population of Bahrain goes to
work and leave work. After the peak hours the monorail system will be open for the
people who dont work and tourist. In the future after getting the experience needed and
more customers the government is looking in making it 24 hour service for the public to
use.

Internal communication: internal communication is a very important factor in any

transport system operation. The success of internal communication is delivering the right
information to the right person at the right time. In the monorail system the information
that will be delivered will be between the drivers, operating managers and the inspectors
that will be the train for any emergencies. As the inspector delivers information to the
operation manager and that will be delivered to the upper managers.

External communication: External communication is dealing with customer through ways

of communication like signs, messages and e-mails. The customer is the main revenue for
the operation therefore; they must be informed in the right way and easily. If the quality of
the monorail is high and satisfies the customer then the reputation of the monorail will
increase which means more revenue for the operating company and future development
for the government. Therefore, the use of advertisement and promotions to customers will
help in making them use the public transport system. A website will be created so that if
the customer needs to know any information they can just look through the site easily. The
site will include the routes, prices, offers and if there is any delay so that people can look
for alternative modes of transport.

Mode 3: BRT System

-

Purpose for choosing BRT (Benefits)

An ideal solution in terms of developing the public bus transport system in Bahrain is to
implement the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in which its a system referring to the separation of
bus lanes in order to run in a more effective, efficient and a productive way. This system works
better than other developed public transportation systems as its suitable for the Kingdoms
topography as well as providing an enhanced performance with lower costs. This system involves
less construction cost making it viable for small sized countries such as Bahrain to adopt such
system. This will also reduce traffic congestion caused by buses and as well develop mobility for
citizens. An example of a successful BRT system is Singapore (Crevero, 2013).
The main advantage to such system is that it could run on dedicated lanes or even within the
roadways as this would not involve necessity of constructing separated lanes in order to operate,
thus cost effective compared to other public transportation modes with consideration to the
number of passengers the BRT can carry through its journey. The BRT system has faster speed
than other modes, and high capacity compared to the normal buses and it has flexible
infrastructure where it can move on all kinds of roads. Most importantly, it will have huge
coverage over areas and numerous stations making it accessible for everyone since it has feeder
buses system backing it. Furthermore, the BRT system will be integrated with the current
infrastructure therefore it will make the best utilization of the countrys assets (Bahrain
infrastructure report, 2014).

Challenges

There are two main challenges faced when establishing BRT:

Culture: has a huge impact over the public transportation system as women prefer
their separation from men in most services within the country. Although its not part
of the countrys restriction likewise KSA, yet it comes from females as part of culture
as well as religion. Thus, the creation of a BRT system that will separate both genders
could be quite tricky (BRT challenges,n.d.)

Urban design (Roads)due to Bahrains infrastructure, the cities are quite old as well
as the buildings that were build long years back, thus, the government might find it
quite difficult to create a dedicated lane for the bus system or even separate a lane
that is already existing for the BRT. Hence, the ministry of works is trying to provide
3 lane roads by taking advantage of the available land. (Irukella, 2014)

1) Characteristics
The Bus Rapid Transit system is a network of buses that run likewise the rail system. The BRT
network system involves the movement of passengers referring to particular routes that were
earlier scheduled. It is uniquely designed compared to other bus systems as they frequently use
articulated buses which are especially designed in order to carry higher capacity of passenger in
one bus at a time. The BRT system in Bahrain is going to have 2 main lines; the first line is going to
operate in Muharraq governance with 33km length and 21 stations with 2 interchange ones.
Meanwhile, the second line will cover 19km from Durrat Al Bahrain to Zallaq and Askar. The length
of the BRT is 62 feet long, with a ridership of 110/journey and an average speed on 60-80km/h
unless it was on an exclusive route where it will reach 120km/h (Characteristics of BRT, 2004).

2) Routes

As seen from the map there are two main lines for the BRT system one is operating in the
northern part of the island and the other is operating extreme south. The first line (brown) will be
covering various residential areas and providing fast delivery time for them. Its journey will start in
Al Hidd Residential area and will connect it with the Diplomatic Area in Manama near Shk. Isa Bin
Salman Causeway; it will go through Bahrain international airport, Busaiteen, Al Dair, Arad,
Samaheej, and Galali. The BRT system will have an interchange station to shift the mode when it
reaches Manama. The second line (pink) will be established to link Durra with other parts of the

country where a terminal will be placed in there with a huge park and ride facility, it will take the
passengers from durra to either Zallaq or Askar where the other terminals are and they can
interchange their mode there. A third lane was suggested which will link Hidd with Hamad town,
however, the route that is used to build this BRT system will be utilized for the GCC railway
project. Plus, the southern areas have sufficient network coverage by LRT network.

3) Infrastructure
The BRT infrastructure includes all of dedicated bus lanes, exclusive bus lanes, terminals, stations,
depots, monitoring centers and public services. In order to establish a functioning BRT system,
each of those components would need to be built properly, for instance the dedicated lanes will
have tracks to steer the bus and move it up to 120kmph, as for the dedicated bus lanes, they will
be provided by traffic calming measures and given priority to the BRT system. Each of those
elements (lanes, stations, terminalsetc.) generally depend on several factors such as the local
conditions of the country for instance, the geographical and climatic factors, operative
qualifications, cultural limitations and monetary conditions. For instance, Bahrains weather is
excessively warm especially during summer time taking in consideration future wise that the bus
stops/ bus stations should involve an air conditioning system unlike the existing ones. Also, being
in line with the culture of Bahrain, there must be divided waiting areas one for the families and
the other for males in both the bus stations as well as the buses (seating), hence, these factors
must be considered well and planned. The responsibility of maintenance of infrastructure will be
jointly by both the government and the BRT Company which will maintain the steering wheels on
the vehicle that are important to utilize the infrastructure (Ministry of works, 2011).

4) Ownership:
The ownership of the BRT system will be a Private Public Partnership (PPP) in which there will be a
partnership and participation among the private and public sector. This will include an agreement
government organizing the separation of tasks between them and the private company. In such
case, the Bahraini government will have the responsibility of funding the BRT system by
constructing the infrastructure, in addition to other requirements that are subsidized by them.
This partnership is maintainable and supportive lasting for longer terms. In addition, the private
company will be completely responsible of the operating system providing a quality service while
the government will have other duties in different sectors. The BRT system will be subsidized by
the Bahraini government and owned by a private company (regulated by the government), in this
way all financial cost will be subsidized providing a high quality standard BRT system and making it
affordable to the public. Also, the adverts placed on each bus will add profit to the system; making
use of the buses in raising profit through advertisement such as products, companies, brands etc
(Advantages of PPP, n.d.).

5) Operating system

BRT Fleet: In order to have an efficient BRT system, the buses must be chosen wisely based
on the routes, stations and passengers demand. In Bahrain, the land mass is limited
compared to the high population density. In such case, the BRT system is required to run
smoothly with an increase in the quantity of buses being operated regularly. Furthermore,
the buses should involve a fast speed within its characteristics as well as considering the
capacity that the bus can carry per journey traveled. When concerning the features
required by the BRT system, its well known that an articulated bus system will be more
effective compared to other bus types (Crevero, 2013).

An articulated bus refers to a connected bus, connecting 2 cabins together. It carries

around 110 passengers in which 60 can be seated. This type of bus is highly recommended
as the size of the bus will fit easily on Bahrains roads. The reason behind the articulation is
to make the bus movement or turns more efficient and can handle a larger capacity
compared to a normal bus.
The buses will have two doors one for loading passengers and the other is for unloading
passengers during stops; this will ease up the process of movement and will prevent

congestions from taking place as the bus will have a maximum 1 minute in the stop. Also,
the buses have comfortable seating, air conditioned and a screen showing the next stop
(Implementing BRT Intelligent transport systems, n.d.).

Feeder buses: One of the most successful ways of convincing passengers to rely on
public transportation is through the use of feeder buses in order to reduce their
journey, with effortless and quick transferring. These small buses will be available
between the bus stations in order to pick customers. These buses are operated in
order to pick and deliver passengers to the BRT terminals.

The feeder buses could be advantageous to Bahrain through providing regular

services helping both residential and commercial areas. This will be done through
preventing passengers or customers from walking long distances all the way to the
BRT stations picking them from their destination all the way to the stations and vice
versa.

Fares: In order to ensure the publics reliance on such transportation system, the BRT
system fares in Bahrain will be relatively cheap in cost. We highly recommend that the
fares will be between 200 Fils and 700 Fils. The reason behind such recommendation is
that the fares are controllable and to ensure that the public transportation mode is
available and affordable to the public from all living standards. In Bahrain, all future
transportation fares are noticed to be cheap in cost and the reason behind such thing is
that all public transportation modes as well as their operations are fully subsidized by the
government. The following table shows the fare charges depending on the subdivision
among categories:

Ticketing System: An important aspect contributing in having a successful public transport

system is through a well-organized ticketing system. The easier the access of the purchase
of the BRT tickets and their more often usage, the
more the BRT system will function and transport
passengers. An example for a successful ticketing
system is the Oyster Card of Londons Bus
Transportation, so for the BRT system it will be
including both ways which are topping up the card and even the purchase of normal
tickets. This ticketing process takes place either in the main terminal which is located in Isa
Town, or the stations or even it could be online in their official website. Hence, there are
several choices when purchasing the BRT tickets: Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Yearly
(Implementing BRT Intelligent transport systems, n.d.).

Staff: Drivers will be operating the buses during the journeys, yet staff members such as
managers, security officers, and journey controllers will be needed in order to ensure the
sustainability and control over the buss affairs. The following table will show the involved
staff members within the BRT system:

Management Structure:

The mentioned managers above are the ones in charge of the whole operations regarding the bus
system in the main terminal showing also the responsibilities of employees within the
substations/ small stations.

Sustainability
Bahrain have been focusing on providing a sustainable transport system to its fleet, therefore, it hired
German an American companies in order to investigate and study the possibility of providing public
transport with renewable energies since its oil reserve has been shrinking rapidly. The studies are still
going; the German study was focusing on providing solar energy technologies to be implemented on the
integrated public transport network (Albawaba, 2014). As for the American study, it focused on studying
the possibility of wind energy in Bahrain to generate electricity for PT as shown in the figure below:

However, most findings dont encourage wind energy as a viable resource of energy. Bahrain however is
establishing a solar system plant in Awali to produce energies that could be used to generate electricity for
PT (in case of LRT and Monorail) (green light for light rail, n.d.).

As for BRT systems, it was mostly recommended that the buses have solar systems installed on the top to
charge the vehicle while running and also can use hydrogen to operate in case the solar energy wasnt
available during night- and the vehicle is out of charge.

GCC railway
The future of PT will not only include Bahrain but will also extend to the other GCC; the GCC railway is an
idea that was provided long ago to link the entire states together. The project was always delayed,
however, it is expected that in the future it will commence especially that in 2013, Saudi Arabia gave its
approval to study the expansion of King Fahad causeway to build a railway track that will be the first phase
for the GCC railway project, a feasibility study is being conducted this year to manage the costs, the project
time and the phases following. The GCC heavy railway will pass from King Fahad Causeway and pass
through Saar and AlJasra moving through Riffa to King Hamad Highway to Askar where it will then meet
with the Bahrain-Qatar causeway which itself has double tracks for a railway (Bahrain infrastructure
report, 2014).

Conclusion
To conclude, this assignment discussed the main plans to be implemented in Bahrain in 2030 and
the future. It mentioned three modes and talked about five planning components in details,
continually it provided mappings and routes about each mode and the expectations from each,
with the benefits and the challenges. Furthermore, this paper discussed sustainability of transport
for Bahrain and then it concluded by mentioning the future project with other GCCs.

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