Mafraq university students reach agreement with administration over transport problems

AMMAN — After more than four months of protesting and boycotting Mafraq’s transport services, Al al Bayt University students have reached an agreement with the university administration and the Land Transport Regulatory Commission (LTRC), activists said on Saturday.

Since April, students at the Mafraq-based university started boycotting public transport services to demand better services.

More than 15,000 students use the public transport system in Mafraq, 80km northeast of Amman, according to students.

Students used to wait for the city’s buses as a main transport medium, with the new decision, students will have their own office to regulate their transport.

A fourth-year student said the city’s transport system was a problem for students and residents who work and study in Mafraq.

“It did not only affect students at the university; it also affected people living there,” he told The Jordan Times on condition of anonymity.

Students also demanded a fixed pricing system for buses in the northern city, since many drivers charged more.

According to the university’s dean of student affairs, Omar Otein, the university will cooperate with the LTRC starting September 25 to organise the transport system and to provide students with better services. 

Otein said the plan is to have the buses park in front of the university’s gates.

The measures also include giving students tickets at the stalls for each route, issued by the transport authority, he said.

“There will be a separate office for students; we are suggesting issuing pre-paid cards for the buses in front of the university gate. The machine will issue tickets and allow students to take the bus,” Otein told The Jordan Times.

The pricing for each route is to be decided during the upcoming week, he said, adding that the process will be agreed upon with transport companies to ensure fixed prices.