Citizens, officials come together to discuss public transport solutions

AMMAN — Only 13 per cent of Jordanians use public transport, while in other countries the percentage ranges between 60 and 70, according to a local business owner.

“Around 40 per cent of Jordanian women avoid working because of the difficulty in finding public transportation suitable for them,” Suhail Jouaneh, chief learning officer and motivational speaker at Better Business, said at a discussion on public transport organised recently by Quiz Shabab and Al Jude for Scientific Care NGO.   

Examining possible solutions, Transport Minister Lina Shbeeb said the answer does not lie in having wider streets.

“We cannot solve the problem of public transport by adding more lanes. We have to work on reorganising the lanes we already have.”

“We have an error in consumer behaviour; we cannot just say ‘let’s add more lanes’... we also have to use smart transportation means,” Shbeeb added.

During the discussion, held at the Zain Innovation Campus at King Hussein Business Park, participants from various sectors and walks of life spoke about ways to solve problems related to public transport all around Jordan.

“We can solve public transport problems by having more parking spaces for cars on main streets and more transportation means available across the country,” Shurooq Hamdan said.

Fakher Haddadin suggested promoting bicycles as a means of transportation, which will encourage healthier lifestyles. 

“This solution can be tested on the airport service road, which serves six universities; it will reduce traffic jams in Jordan if applied,” Haddadin argued.

The discussion was based on World Café Methodology and sought “to create a beneficial conversation among stakeholders in public transport, NGOs, students, and public officials to find economic and practical solutions”, the founder of Al Jude for Scientific Care, Maher Kaddoura, told The Jordan Times at the meeting.

“We want to decrease the gap between public figures and citizens,” Kaddoura said, and when people are organised and put in an environment like the World Café, it is more likely that they will come up with ideas and share them with people from other groups.

“… Not everyone has cars but so many of have jobs; thus, to increase productivity, we have to improve all aspects of life; better transportation is a major element in increasing productivity,” he said.

Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji stressed the need for cooperation and innovation.

“We must all work together — the government, the Greater Amman Municipality, and private and public sectors — hand-in-hand, to achieve success,” Biltaji said.

The “Maan Nasel” initiative, whose members attended the discussion, plans to send a report that includes all the submitted suggestions to the Ministry of Transport. 

“We want to make sure the solutions submitted are applicable and efficient,” Hana Bilbeisi, a member of Maan Nasel, told The Jordan Times.