Saudi Public Transport Company

The Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) (Arabic: الشركة السعودية للنقل الجماعي) is a public owned transport company, which operates urban buses in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Mecca; intercity buses; and international buses to the UAE, Egypt (via ferry connection), Jordan and Bahrain.^[1]

Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO)

Founded	July 9, 1979; 45 years ago (July 9, 1979)
Headquarters	Building No. 7995, Building No. 7995, Al-Nakhil District, P.O Box: 10667, Riyadh 11443
Service type	Transport Services within Cities International Transportation Contracts and Leasing Service VIP services School & University Transport service Cargo services
Hubs	Riyadh, Jeddah and Makkah
Fleet	Mercedes Traveco Family 2016 Mercedes Traveco 2017 Mercedes Traveco 2017 Velvet Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa 2014 Kinglong Coach Bus 2014 Kinglong City Bus 2016 Kinglong Coach Bus 2017 Kinglong Coach Bus 2018 Kinglong Coach Bus 2019 Kinglong Coach Bus 2020 Kinglong Coach Bus 2023 Yutong Coach Bus 2023
Annual ridership	Estimated 15 Millions
Fuel type	Diesel
Chief executive	Engr. Khaled Bin Abdullah Al Hogail
Website	www.saptco.com.sa

Buses are gender-segregated, women and children using a rear door on urban buses for women and children^[2] and front seats on intercity buses.^[3]

History

The enterprise was established on 4 February 1979, with the issuance of Royal Decree No. (M / 11)^[4] Sheikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel was behind the creation of SAPTCO. SAPTCO was created by signing contracts with American transportation companies to manage it, with the money being provided by the Saudi government, and Saleh Kamel acting as the middleman and collecting a percentage of the contracts as a fee. The American companies were DMJM (Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall, now a subsidiary of AECOM) and ATE Management & Services Company. The initial bus fare within cities was one Saudi riyal, by royal degree, but this has been overturned and the fare increased. On 4 November 2017, Kamel was arrested in Saudi Arabia in a "corruption crackdown" conducted by a new royal anti-corruption committee.^[5][6] It was the first purge organized by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.^[7] Saleh Kamel died in 2020.^[8]

References

1. "Buses/International". Archived from the original on 2021-09-01. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
2. "Urban Transport". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
3. "InterCity Transport". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
4. https://saptco.com.sa/About-Us/Company-Profile.aspx
5. Margherita Stancati; Said Summer (5 November 2017). "Saudi Princes, Former Ministers Arrested in Apparent Power Consolidation". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
6. David D. Kirkpatrick (4 November 2017). "Saudi Arabia Arrests 11 Princes, Including Billionaire Alwaleed bin Talal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
7. Stephen Kalin. "Purge of Saudi princes, businessmen widens, travel curbs imposed". U.S. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
8. Khitam Al Amir (19 May 2020). "Saleh Abdullah Kamel: Saudi billionaire dies at 79". Gulf News. Retrieved 19 May 2020.