Transport sector regulators seek adherence to public health measures

AMMAN — Operational capacity may drop to 50 per cent if the public transport sector does not adhere to coronavirus public health and safety standards and the current 75 per cent operational capacity rule, a transport sector official said on Tuesday.

"If the lack of commitment continues, there will be no other option but to reduce the operational capacity, however, there are no plans to recommend or enforce this at the moment," head of the transport operations directorate at the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) Khaled Abu Olaim told The Jordan Times over the phone.

"There are 28,000 public transport vehicles in the Kingdom, many of which are under electronic supervision conducted through an operation room," Abu Olaim said.

The supervision applies to the 135 vehicles of the Amman Bus, which have their own cameras, controlled and monitored at the company's operational room to follow up on passengers' commitment, he said, adding that smart ride-hailing application vehicles also have a tracking system and they fill the form on trip information, which also helps supervise them. 

However, yellow taxis and shared taxis are not monitored electronically, and need to be followed up with on the field, Abu Olaim said.

He added that "the fines imposed on bus drivers in particular have negatively affected them", as the driver shoulders the responsibility of passengers' lack of commitment. 

President of the Transport Services and Taxi Owners Union Ahmad Abu Haidar said: "From what I have seen, drivers are committed to only having 75 per cent of passengers riding, and citizens are also committed to wearing masks."

Abu Haidar said that when the operational capacity was reduced to 50 per cent at the beginning of the crisis, drivers suffered a lot of losses, especially with the lockdown and curfews as well.

Abu Haidar hopes that the level of commitment is sufficient enough to keep the capacity at the current 75 per cent or even go back to the full 100 per cent, noting that it is difficult for drivers to make a living if operational capacity drops further.