Data from the Land Transport Regulatory Commission showed that the number of vehicles operating through smart transport applications increased by 9.68% during the third quarter of this year, reaching 19,223 vehicles in September, compared with 17,527 in July. This represents an increase of 1,696 vehicles, alongside a rise in the number of companies operating in the sector from five to seven.
According to the Commission’s third-quarter report, obtained by Al Ghad, several passenger transport segments recorded varying growth in fleet sizes during the same period. These included public transport, school transport, international transport, bus rentals and private transport, while the number of vehicles and offices remained stable in the taxi, tourist transport and outbound travel sectors.
The data showed that the total public transport fleet, comprising large and medium-sized buses as well as service taxis, increased by 1.10% to reach 5,405 vehicles in September, compared with 5,346 in July, an increase of 59 vehicles.
The Commission attributed this growth to rising requests for operational fleet expansion, an increase in licences issued for cars and buses under decisions adopted by its board, and the addition of newly licensed vehicles to the operational fleet. These developments are intended to meet growing transportation demand.
Expansion of Smart Transport Apps and School Transport
The Commission explained that the smart transport application sector recorded a 40% increase in the number of operating companies. This expansion is part of its regulatory efforts to regularise the status of unlicensed companies and allow them to obtain the required licences. It also follows the removal of the previous numerical cap on drivers working through smart applications, which had been set at 13,000.
The Commission said these measures aim to open the sector to operators working under specific regulatory conditions, strengthen competition and curb monopolistic practices in the smart transport services market.
In the school transport sector, the data showed that the number of buses operated by licensed companies increased by 5.98%, reaching 2,640 buses in September, compared with 2,491 in July, an increase of 149 buses. The number of licensed companies remained unchanged at 27.
Licensed school transport companies operate across the governorates of Irbid, Zarqa, Amman and Balqa. The Commission linked the fleet expansion to the start of the new academic year and increased demand for student transportation services to schools and educational institutions.
It added that the fleet expansion was intended to meet students’ transportation needs and increase the service’s capacity, in accordance with the 2018 Regulation on Licensing School Transport Service Providers for Educational Institutions. The Commission also reaffirmed its efforts to expand the geographical coverage of the service and create opportunities for those interested in investing in the sector.
Source: Al Ghad Newspaper
