Results and Discussion
The results presented the AHP analysis on
factors undermining the utilization of public
transportation in Dammam. The values in
Figure 2 were vectors of priorities generated
from the matrix, which must sum up to one
as explained previously. Thus, the results of
opinions computed by the Expert Choice 2000
software are shown in Figures 3 and 4. This
sort of automatic computation had enabled
the derivation of priorities (weights), CI and
sensitivity analyses based on the eigenvalue
technique (Ishizaka & Labib, 2011).
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Volume 14 Number 2, April 2019 : 157-171
Umar Lawal Dano and Ali Muflah Alqathany
165
Figure 2: Pairwise comparison of factors
Figure 3: Priorities of the factors with respect to the goal of the study
Using the CR calculated from Equation 5,
the inconsistency ratio was 0.03, which was
quite reasonable. Based on the results in Figure
4, travel time was the most important with a W
value of 0.285, followed by privacy at 0.262 and
weather conditions at 0.127. Hence, according to
these findings, travel time, privacy and weather
conditions were the most important factors
that undermined public transport provision and
development in Dammam.
Figure 4: Final priority weights (W) of factors.
Dammam has been experiencing enormous
urban growth because of its strategic location as
an oil hub and port city facing the Persian Gulf.
The city had expanded rapidly between 1972
and 2004, from 2200 ha to 25000 ha, multiplying
approximately 11 times within 30 years. At the
same time, the population growth was around
4.6 times (Abou-Korin, 2011; Alhowaish,
2015). Its urban population increased in 1974,
1993, 2004 and 2010, from 365,000 to 1.3, 1.75
and 1.8 million people, respectively. With these
growth rates, the city’s population was predicted
to reach 3.25 to 3.62 million people in 2040,
with an increase of approximately 1.5 to 1.9
million people in the next 25 years (Aboukorin
& Al-shihri, 2015).
The growth of Dammam had been
associated with challenges, such as high-energy
consumption, traffic congestion, road accidents
and environmental pollution. In tackling those
issues, initiatives to promote public transport
utilization should be implemented. This could
be achieved by enhancing the quality of services
in terms of punctuality to reduce waiting time,
good walking facilities to the public transport
Journal of Sustainability Science and Management
Volume 14 Number 2, April 2019 : 157-171
166
ISSUES UNDERMINING PUBLIC TRANSPORT UTILIZATION IN
DAMMAM CITY, SAUDI ARABIA: AN EXPERT-BASED ANALYSIS
hubs to minimize exposure to harsh weather,
and ensuring better privacy and comfort.
According to the results, travel time was
the most undermining factor with 28.5 %
influence. Residents were used to travelling
in private vehicles and had the perception that
public transport was not an efficient mode of
commuting. This was followed by privacy
concerns (26.2% influence) and weather
conditions (12.7 % influence).
These observations were consistent with
Aljoufie (2016), who stressed that improving
privacy would attract more people to use public
transport because it was an important issue in
Saudi Arabia, which practised male guardianship
in its society. Lastly, weather conditions were the
third most undermining factor as residents found
it difficult to wait for transport in the city’s harsh
weather, especially between May and August.
Thus, people continued to depend on private
cars for daily commuting (Dano, 2018).
Twenty years ago, Saudi Arabia reported
four million road accidents that caused 86,000
deaths and 611,000 injuries, seven percent of
which resulted in permanent disabilities (Arab
News, 2013). This was partly because of the
high dependency on private cars in the country,
where there were approximately 12 million
vehicles on the roads of Saudi Arabia daily (US
Department of Commerce, 2017). It was,
therefore, necessary for decision-makers to take
steps to reduce the use of private cars within the
city.
The Saudi government had initiated smart
city projects to help realize the country’s Vision
2030. The initiatives included metro projects
in Riyadh, Dammam, Makkah, Madinah and
Jeddah. For instance, in Dammam, the plan was
to build 50 km of light rail transit, 110 km of
bus lanes, and 350 km of highways to connect
the city’s peripheries (BNC Network, 2016).
According to Aina (2017), the completion of
these projects could lead to a decrease in GHG
emission and traffic congestion in the major
Saudi cities. However, the study highlighted that
the lack of legal framework in implementingthe
smart city projects, lack of regulation tomanage
interoperability and implementation, and lack of
uniform vision among stakeholders and funding
would become challenges in the projects. Even if
the metro projects were successfully completed,
it would be quite challenging to get Saudis to
shift from car dependency to public transport.
However, a study by Aljoufie & Tiwari (2017)
found that 66 % of respondents preferred a
smart city with an efficient mass transit service.
Notwithstanding, there wasaneedtointroduce
a regime of disincentives as recommended by
some experts. Tolls, parking fees, taxes and
higher fuel price would help immensely in
compelling city residents to use public transport.
Secondly, the zoning policies in Saudi Arabia as
a whole supported low density andleapfrogging
developments (Abubakar & Aina, 2016). Much
focus was given to developing new residential
zones with free and ample parking spaces in
the outskirts instead of existing neighborhoods
within cities. This had led to the implementation
of misguided regulations, a dearth of effective
planning structure and weak urban management
practices (Alshuwaikhat & Nkwenti, 2002).
All these aforementioned challenges have led
to chaotic patterns of development and lack
of linkages between the land uses and public
transportation (Abubakar & Aina, 2016).
Therefore, in tackling these challenges,
the government should think of developing a
compact city with high development density, as
theywere more environmentally sustainable. For
privacy, the government should provide separate
buses and train coaches buses for women. Lastly,
the government must get the people effectively
involved in the planning and implementation of
urban sustainability programmes to inspire them
to become custodians of their environment.
The findings of this study had clear policy
implications for the transport sector as a
whole. Firstly, they could be applied reliably in
resolving the underutilisation of public transport
in Saudi Arabia. Asecond implication would be
the introduction of disincentives to discourage
the use of private vehicles. Lastly, it could
serve as a wake-up call for the government to
Journal of Sustainability Science and Management
Volume 14 Number 2, April 2019 : 157-171
Umar Lawal Dano and Ali Muflah Alqathany
167
reconsider its zoning regulations that gave rise
to chaotic patterns of development and lack of
linkages between land use and public transport
(Abubakar & Aina, 2016).
This study contained a few limitations.
First was the lack of passenger and motorist
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