Abstract
Public transport systems are very important in any city and they usually give an indication of how well cities are organized. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the Arab Gulf States and also one of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The other members of the GCC are Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and the Kingdom of Bahrain. One of the most important fields is transportation, which is vital to cement the union between the Gulf States. It is necessary that all GCC members have a good network of transport both inside and between the states. Unfortunately Saudi Arabia does not have an efficient public transport system although the kingdom is the largest oil exporting country which provides the necessary financial means for an efficient system. The city of Riyadh is the capital of Saudi Arabia and this paper will investigate the public transport system in this city. Like many of the GCC cities public transport in Riyadh is facing numerous problems and difficulties. A lack of strategic planning in the past has contributed greatly to the deficiencies of the system. The city of Riyadh was initially designed as a compact city but this design could not cope with the huge influx of people and consequently the large growth in population. The city started to expand in a horizontal manner and because this was unexpected the public transport system of the city could not cope efficiently with the large growth. Public transport in Riyadh suffers from traditional, cultural and religious influences and beliefs. This paper will investigate the problems and difficulties that public transport in Riyadh is facing and highlight the ongoing problems in the GCC.