IVU in Microbus deal for Saudi Arabia and Sharjah

Following on from Dubai, public bus transport will now be planned in Saudi Arabia and Sharjah using Microbus software following the new orders for all the key modules from IVU Traffic Technologies AG.
Modern public transport systems for both local and regional bus operations are becoming increasingly important for the Gulf region. This is because the private bus services, taxis, and private vehicles are causing tail-backs and traffic jams, particularly in the cities. The Emirate of Sharjah has decided to emulate the example of Dubai in tackling this problem. And the public transport company in Saudi Arabia will also be using Microbus to organise its bus transport more efficiently than in the past.
The Saudi Arabian Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) has ordered all the key modules of Microbus, IVU’s planning and dispatching system. SAPTCO will be using this system to organise its operations with a fleet of 2,250 buses, including 580 trips daily to 360 locations nationwide, 120 trips to the neighbouring states and other countries in the Gulf region, as well as some 1,000 additional trips to Mecca and Medina during the annual pilgrimage.
With trips covering distances of many hundreds of kilometres, SAPTCO expects that it will be able to use Microbus to organise its schedules and duty rosters more efficiently and thus reduce demands on resources. The company has ordered the entire system in Arabic to improve efficiency.
More than 800,000 people live in Sharjah, many of whom travel to work in neighbouring Dubai. The large number of commuters in the morning and evening rush hours have been causing growing problems. Therefore the city authorities in Sharjah decided to introduce a completely new public transport system. The private operator "Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport (KGL) – Passenger Transport Services (Sharjah Branch)" has been commissioned with the planning and the subsequent operations. The preparations are underway, and in total some 200 buses will be providing the regular services. The timetables and schedules for the new public transport service are being administered and developed using Microbus – and its dependable optimisation algorithms will ensure efficient operations. KGL is also relying on the software from IVU for dispatching vehicles and drivers.