Oman: City bus services in Muscat resumes today
City bus services operated by Mwasalat will resume in Muscat Governorate from Sunday, after temporarily halting services to stop the spread of COVID-19.
A statement issued by the company said, “Dear valued customers we would like to inform you that city bus services in Muscat Governorate will be operational starting from October 4, 2020.”
As part of returning to operations, Mwasalat will undertake a number of measures to keep its passengers safe, and its fleets clean. All buses will be sterilised on a daily basis. This includes seats, handles, and other parts of the bus at the beginning and end of each trip.
To offset the costs of maintaining its fleet, the transport operator has raised ticket fares by 500 baisa on intercity buses, and by 100 baisa on city buses, while ensuring that hand sanitisers will be provided to passengers on all vehicles.
Passengers will only be allowed to board after their temperature has been checked, while the number of people allowed to ride on board will be limited, by ensuring alternate seats in vehicles are left vacant. All bus stations will also have the necessary measures implemented.
People who intend to travel on board the buses must wear a face mask, avoid standing for the duration of the journey, and commit to all precautionary measures issued by Mwasalat.
The resumption of bus services inside the capital region comes just a few days after Mwasalat announced the return of inter-city bus services, which began on September 27.
“In order to ensure the efficiency of the gradual return of intercity bus services, we illustrate the most important details, which include the following,” said Mohammed Al Yousefi, the company’s head of Planning Section for Public Intercity Transport.
“Services will resume to various governorates of the Sultanate, with the exception of Route 100, Muscat to Salalah, and Route 201, Muscat to Dubai.
“500 baizas will be added to the price of each ticket bought on intercity bus services, to make sterilisation and continuous cleaning possible,” he added. “With Mwasalat, your safety matters to us.”
