VIRTUAL: Livable Cities – New York

Abstract

Doha the capital city of Qatar experienced a transformational shift in the past two decades. This was as a consequence of diverse economic development, the hosting of international events, and rapid population growth. All of these circumstances generated serious traffic congestion due to the increase in the number of private cars. Therefore, it was crucial to develop a smart Public Transportation (PT) system to comply with Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030 and by implementing Transport Master Plan for Qatar (TMPQ) 2006-2026. The TMPQ included the introduction of Doha metro, extensive expansion of the bus network, and infrastructure advancement. The prior public transportation system before the introduction of Doha metro has numerous deficiencies such as timetable reliability, fare and ticket integration, access to trip planning information, network coverage, and service frequency. QNV 2030 aims to turn Qatar into a smart country sustaining smart transportation and this can be achieved of all PT systems are integrated together. The objective of this paper is to examine the level of integration between the newly developed PT systems. The research was approached by interviewing key planners and engineers in the governmental authorities and by reviewing the Qatar Interim Bus Action Plan 2014 – 2020 and the Qatar Rail Development Project. The outcomes of this research paper revealed that the development plans demonstrate a high level of integration in PT services — including, networking, physical infrastructure, fares and ticketing, and information systems — that can be expected to lead to a system of high quality.