Saudi Public Transport Company
{{Short description|Public transport company of Saudi Arabia}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox bus company
| name = Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO)
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| founded = {{Start date and age|July 9, 1979}}
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| headquarters = Building No. 7995, Building No. 7995, Al-Nakhil District, P.O Box: 10667, Riyadh 11443
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| service_type = {{Flatlist|
- Transport Services within Cities
- International Transportation
- Contracts and Leasing Service
- VIP services
- School & University Transport service
- Cargo services
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| hubs = Riyadh, Jeddah and Makkah
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| fleet = {{Flatlist|
- 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
}}
| ridership =
| annual_ridership = Estimated 15 Millions
| fuel_type = Diesel
| operator =
| ceo = Engr. Khaled Bin Abdullah Al Hogail
| leader_type = CEO
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| website = {{URL |https://www.saptco.com.sa}}
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The Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) ({{langx|ar|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.{{cite web |url=https://www.saptco.com.sa/Buses/International-Transportation.aspx |access-date=2021-09-01 |title=Buses/International |archive-date=2021-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901192753/https://www.saptco.com.sa/Buses/International-Transportation.aspx |url-status=dead }}
Buses are gender-segregated, women and children using a rear door on urban buses for women and children{{cite web |url=https://saptco.com.sa/Buses/Transport-Services-within-Cities.aspx?lang=en-US |accessdate=2021-09-01 |title=Urban Transport}} and front seats on intercity buses.{{cite web |url=https://www.saptco.com.sa/Buses/Transportation-between-Cities.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317004156/https://saptco.com.sa/Buses/Transportation-between-Cities.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 17, 2015 |title=InterCity Transport |access-date=2021-09-01 }}
History
The enterprise was established on 4 February 1979, with the issuance of Royal Decree No. (M / 11){{Cite web | title=SAPTCO - نبذة عن الشركة | url=https://saptco.com.sa/About-Us/Company-Profile.aspx | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316225228/https://saptco.com.sa/About-Us/Company-Profile.aspx | access-date=2025-01-17 | archive-date=2015-03-16}} 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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-princes-former-ministers-arrested-in-apparent-power-consolidation-1509837798|title=Saudi Princes, Former Ministers Arrested in Apparent Power Consolidation|author1=Margherita Stancati|date=5 November 2017|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=8 November 2017|author2=Said Summer|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-waleed-bin-talal.html|title=Saudi Arabia Arrests 11 Princes, Including Billionaire Alwaleed bin Talal|author=David D. Kirkpatrick|date=4 November 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=8 November 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} It was the first purge organized by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-arrests/purge-of-saudi-princes-businessmen-widens-travel-curbs-imposed-idUSKBN1D60S6|title=Purge of Saudi princes, businessmen widens, travel curbs imposed|author=Stephen Kalin|work=U.S.|access-date=30 November 2018|language=en-US}} Saleh Kamel died in 2020.{{cite news|author=Khitam Al Amir|title=Saleh Abdullah Kamel: Saudi billionaire dies at 79|url=https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/saleh-abdullah-kamel-saudi-billionaire-dies-at-79-1.1589844260764|accessdate=19 May 2020|work=Gulf News|date=19 May 2020}}