RIYADH — The Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) has announced the start of the third stage of the Riyadh Buses service. The Riyadh service is part of King Abdulaziz Public Transport Project in Riyadh, which is one of the main pillars for the economic and urban transformation in the Saudi capital. The transformation will be through developing the public transportation means in the city, and to create a qualitative shift that enhance the public transportation sector, in line with the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. During the first 6 months from the start of the Riyadh Buses service which was launched in March of 2023, about 435 trips were operated transporting more than 4 million passengers. With the launch of the 3rd stage, the total paths of the Riyadh Buses have reached 33 paths, served by 565 buses that cover more than 1,611 stations and different stopping points. It covers 1,284 km out of a total network of 1,900 km. The project is continuing to launch the remaining stages, with the aim of fully operating the Riyadh Buses network before the end of 2023. The 3rd stage includes the addition of route number 13 on the buses service with a designated lane that extends across Khalid Bin AlWaleed road, to join the bus service with a designated lane, which have been launched through the route number 11, that extends through King Abdulaziz Road and Salah Ad Din Al Ayyubi Road. The designated route bus service aims to provide a unique transportation experience for passengers, and contribute in reducing the traffic congestion. It will also improve efficiency and flexibility in transporting the passengers in Riyadh with accuracy, safety and comfort. The route of buses with a designated lane is marked in red. Passengers can reach the buses stations with designated lanes through the pedestrian bridges that are equipped with escalators, ensuring a high level of accessibility and comfort for all. People can benefit from the service by using the Riyadh Bus application on phones, which provides several services such as scheduling the trips, tracking the trips on routes through the interactive map, in addition to the possibility to purchase the trips tickets. The electronic gate of the Riyadh Buses through the following link: www.riyadhbus.sa — provides various information on ways to purchase tickets and ways to identify lanes, in addition to providing the "Darb Card" service to easily pay the cost of the trip. The Darb Card can be purchased through the ticket vending machines at the selected bus stations of Riyadh Buses or ticket offices. There are multiple options for purchasing tickets that include different prices: the price of a two-hour ticket costs SR4; a 3-day ticket costs SR20; a 7-day ticket costs SR40; a 30-day ticket costs SR140.
