People who use Mwasalat many times a day are seeking season tickets, which allows them hassle- free journeys.
“I travel at least 4 times a day on these public transport buses to and from different stations and each time I’m supposed to stand in the queue for a ticket. Had there been a single ticket for a day or for a week, it would be of great help to me and many others without the need to buy a ticket each time,” said Vinod, an expatriate salesperson with a printing company.
Commuters say it would be cheaper and attract more people to use public transport. The cost of the commute can be worked out taking into consideration various facts such as frequency, demand and the places to be promoted, etc.
“Such a move will certainly help many laborers who use the service as we travel to our workplace and back daily,” a labourer whom this reporter met at the Ruwi bus station said.
Many companies give their workers a lump sum amount as conveyance to go to their work site and return on a regular basis.
Vinod adds that such a season ticket concept would also attract more visitors to Oman to travel to various locations of interest when they are on a short visit to the country.
“I’ve personally seen tourists queuing up for the ticket along with others and a ticket for a day to select destinations will be desirable,” he said.
Many advanced countries have implemented this concept and there are season tickets for every kind of traveller, with weekly, monthly, flexi-season and annual to choose from.
According to a recent report published by Mwasalat, it had transported a total number of 3,453,645 passengers on domestic routes in Muscat Governorate in a year besides thousands for interstate transport. Thousands of commuters use this public transport system regularly and their schedules are planned according to the timing of the buses.
