Amman Bus Rapid Transit (Arabic: الباص سريع التردد, romanized:al-Bāṣ Sarī‘ al-Taradod) is a bus rapid transit transportation system in Amman, Jordan.

Construction work on the BRT system started in 2010, but was halted soon after amid feasibility concerns. Resuming in 2015, the BRT system's routes were gradually inaugurated starting 2021. Another BRT service connecting Amman with Zarqa started operations in May 2024.

The BRT system in Amman consists of two routes: the first from Sweileh in northwest Amman to the Ras Al-Ain area next to downtown Amman, and the second from Sweileh to Mahatta terminal in eastern Amman. Both routes meet at the Sports City intersection.

Background

Plans for a BRT system were first announced in 2009 and construction work started soon after in 2010. The BRT project was originally funded through a soft loan provided by the Agence Française de Développement for $166 million directly to the Greater Amman Municipality. Claims by the House of Representatives and the Audit Bureau that the project is unfeasible led the government to halt construction and hire a foreign consultant to review the scheme in 2011. Construction on the project did not resume until 2015, when the House approved its revival. The first route of the BRT system was inaugurated in July 2021, with the second route was inaugurated in August 2022. The BRT project was controversial among the Jordanian public, who criticized its institutional and constructional delays.

Amman benefits from a BRT or Bus Rapid Transit system for a variety of reasons, mostly to do with the environmental and traffic restrictions. The air quality of Amman was measured at almost 40 micrograms per cubic meter air in 2015 by the Global Ambient Air Pollution Database. This far exceeds the WHO guideline of 10 micrograms per cubic meter air, and due to transit being a primary factor in Greenhouse Gas emissions, targeting this sector is seen as being a possible solution. The current public transit situation in Amman is fairly poor, due to its multiple minibuses, large buses, service taxis, and yellow taxis which all operate on different schedules with no coordination between each other. Passengers on Amman streets frequently experience poor speeds at approximately 15 km/h during peak periods on public transit. This is coupled by average car speeds of 30-25 km/h going around the city, adjoined by generally poor parking conditions. BRT emerged as solution to try and tackle these problems, proving to be somewhat popular with the local population. In the month of October, 2023, 2.2 million passengers used the Amman Bus and Bus Rapid Transit services according to the Mayor of Amman.

Routes

vteBRT Sweileh-Jordan Museum; Al Mahatta
Sweileh Terminal Hisham ibn al-A'as Street Yajouz Street Al-Rubani Street Ahmad Al-Tarawneh Street University of Jordan UJ School of Agriculture Jordan University Hospital Mahmoud Al-Kiswani Street Abdel-Lateef Abu Qura Street Al-Sahafa Tunnel Al-Mukhtar Mall Sports City Circle Abdul-Hameed Sharaf Street Al-Reyada Omar Bin Abdul-Azeez Street North Terminal King Abdullah Gardens Civil Status Department Wadi Saqra Intersection Areefah Mall Mecca Street Tariq Terminal Mohammad Ali Janah Street Prince Hamzah Hospital Fawzi Al-Qaweqji Street Abu Baker Sideeq Mosque Mohmmmad Ali Bdair Street Zain Al-Abedeen Street Barda Street Al-Marbat-Mahatta Bridge Prince Ali Bin Hussein street Hussien Cultural Center Greater Amman Municipality Jordan Museum Terminal
Sweileh Terminal
Hisham ibn al-A'as Street
Yajouz Street
Al-Rubani Street
Ahmad Al-Tarawneh Street
University of Jordan
UJ School of Agriculture
Jordan University Hospital
Mahmoud Al-Kiswani Street
Abdel-Lateef Abu Qura Street
Al-Sahafa Tunnel
Al-Mukhtar Mall
Sports City Circle
Abdul-Hameed Sharaf StreetAl-Reyada
Omar Bin Abdul-Azeez StreetNorth Terminal
King Abdullah GardensCivil Status Department
Wadi Saqra IntersectionAreefah Mall
Mecca StreetTariq Terminal
Mohammad Ali Janah StreetPrince Hamzah Hospital
Fawzi Al-Qaweqji StreetAbu Baker Sideeq Mosque
Mohmmmad Ali Bdair StreetZain Al-Abedeen Street
Barda StreetAl-Marbat-Mahatta Bridge
Prince Ali Bin Hussein street
Hussien Cultural Center
Greater Amman Municipality
Jordan Museum Terminal
vteBRT Zarqa-Tariq Terminal; Al-Mahatta Terminal
Zarqa Terminal Al-Hashimiyah Russeifa Pepsi Marka Prince Faisal Intersection Mahatta Terminal Rawda Intersection Tariq Terminal Areefah Mall Civil Status Department North Terminal Al-Reyada Sports City Circle
Zarqa Terminal
Al-Hashimiyah
Russeifa
Pepsi
Marka
Prince Faisal IntersectionMahatta Terminal
Rawda Intersection
Tariq Terminal
Areefah Mall
Civil Status Department
North Terminal
Al-Reyada
Sports City Circle
LineTerminusOpeningLength (km)Stations
98Sweileh ↔ Tariq20221218
99Sweileh ↔ Jordan Museum20211726
100Sports City ↔ Mahatta2021922
102Sports City ↔ BRT Zarqa202412TBD
103BRT Zarqa ↔ Mahatta2024924
104BRT Zarqa ↔ Sweileh2024922
105Hamza Hospital ↔ Madaba2025934

Gallery

  • From the inside of a bus
  • Sweileh terminal entrance
  • University of Jordan station
  • Line of people entering bus at Sweileh terminal
  • Ras Al-Ain terminal next to the Jordan Museum

See also

External links