Members of the Municipal Council have unanimously agreed on the necessity and importance of developing the means of mass transportation in Kuwait to reduce traffic congestion in the streets, while finding new strategies that can be implemented and applied that support the proven and currently implemented solutions of building bridges, tunnels, etc., stressing that “the idea, if implemented, will succeed, but the matter needs seriousness, especially with recommendations in this regard within the fourth structural plan of the state.”
In exclusive statements to a local Arabic daily, the members called for launching awareness campaigns and motivational projects and unique monthly and annual discounts, through which people are urged to use public transportation instead of private cars, in order to reduce congestion and preserve the environment to reduce pollution emissions that result from traditional vehicles.
The deputy head of the Municipal Council, Khaled Al-Mutairi, confirmed that the traffic congestion problem index is moving upward, and it is an existing crisis that increases with the increase in the population, and automatically with the increase in the number of cars, pointing to the inability of Kuwait’s streets to absorb, and the inability to keep pace with the development of most streets.
He added that bridges and tunnels are one of the quick solutions that contributed to easing congestion and ease of movement between areas of Kuwait, but the congestion problem needs a new strategy that must be developed, implemented and implemented sooner rather than later, explaining that the idea of mass transit was previously proposed as a kind of solution to the problem of traffic congestion. Mass transit in its current form cannot be an ideal solution. Rather, it needs a comprehensive vision to develop public transportation services and find modern means of transportation that make mass transit the ideal choice.
Al-Mutairi pointed out that the metro and railways can be considered among the most important modern means to end the specter of traffic congestion, reduce accidents, in addition to developing the “smart” mass transit system in order to cover the diverse needs of citizens, shorten distance and time, and ensure the smoothness of roads.
Munira Al-Amir, a member of the Municipal Council, confirmed that mass transit, in its current situation, needs to be developed to upgrade it to the desired level, which contributes to reducing several crises, especially traffic congestion. general.
Another member of the Municipal Council, Engineer Abdullatif Al-Daei, affirmed that in the event of concerted efforts, and taking matters seriously, the idea of mass transportation in Kuwait will certainly succeed, especially since there are recommendations in this regard within the fourth structural plan of the state, pointing out that this issue will solve many problems. problems at a lower cost, and it will also affect the quality of life, especially since the provision of mass transportation for citizens and expatriates at a high level will eliminate overcrowding.
He stressed that “the vision to reduce traffic congestion must include a set of solutions and factors, whether building bridges and tunnels, in addition to focusing on other matters that we did not take seriously, which is, as we mentioned, the issue of mass transit.”
Municipal Council member Abdullah Al-Enezi explained that public transportation is efficient in cities, and can be used to solve many traffic jams if applied in a correct engineering and awareness way. The cost of public transportation is reasonable when compared to the cost of parking a car, so the idea of mass transportation is a successful In many countries, and certainly it will succeed in Kuwait, if many of the previous mistakes are avoided, for example, mass transportation must be equipped with all modern means to attract many of its users and have specific waiting sites equipped with possible amenities. For example, it can be launched Awareness and motivational projects and unique monthly and annual discounts that encourage people to use public transportation instead of private cars, in order to reduce congestion and preserve the environment to reduce pollution emissions that result from traditional vehicles.
He called for avoiding engineering errors represented in designing roads and finding alternative engineering solutions. One of these solutions is the expansion of building new population cities outside the scope of the current areas, as well as the establishment of large labor cities of a special nature to accommodate these large numbers of expatriates outside the current residential areas, in addition to the transfer of state ministries. And its services outside the current scope and work on approving and completing the fourth ring and working on the speedy completion of the eighth ring and linking the main roads with each other.
He pointed out that he has proposed some solutions to reduce the problem of traffic congestion, including improving traffic flow through continuous traffic awareness by adjusting speed, introducing an intelligent transportation system and sound engineering design, and improving and enhancing public transportation, which will undoubtedly have a significant impact on reducing traffic congestion and direction To build bridges and extend them over the streets to reduce the burden on the main streets, use tunnels and trains, to transport large numbers of people at one time, encourage people to use public transportation instead of their own vehicles, and find alternative ways through which all vehicles pass smoothly at the same time without any occurrence traffic jams.
He stressed the need to strengthen security oversight in the streets, by increasing traffic police personnel, so that violations are firm to prevent their recurrence, indicating that allocating roads for trucks to pass at specific times helps reduce congestion.
Member of the Municipal Council, Eng. Sharifa Al-Shalfan, called for the necessity of providing an integrated transport network that includes various means of transportation including pedestrians, cyclists, and passengers of other mass transportation such as buses and others.
She added that once the transport network is fully developed, these parallel means will reduce congestion, which will also reduce the economic cost to the country, especially the environmental aspects of reducing emissions, improving air quality and reducing noise.
Member of the Municipal Council, Engineer Ismail Behbehani, indicated that the idea of mass transportation is not a new invention, and it must be applied and developed so that mass transportation is a suitable option for everyone, and that the only solution to the problem of traffic jams is to focus on increasing the traffic flow for vehicle movement by developing roads and not developing other means public transport, explaining that when developing roads only without paying attention to other means of transport, the solution will be temporary for several years, and the same problem will return with the increase in the number of vehicles, so all alternatives must be considered and developed.
Municipal Council member Fahd Al-Abduljader confirmed that the idea of mass transportation was successful in Kuwait before 1990.
Member of the Municipal Council, Engineer Alia Al-Farsi, confirmed that the advanced idea of mass transportation can be applied in Kuwait, and it can succeed as well, especially since it is applied in Kuwait, but it lacks many improvements and services that could develop this service, noting that most Kuwaitis when they travel abroad use public transport, whether train, tram or bus, they are all types of mass transportation and does not depend on the buses only.
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