Introduction
One of the primary factors that influence the public transportation sector in Saudi Arabia is the low petrol prices. Saudi Arabia is well known for its abundance of oil. Given that it’s one of the global suppliers of oil, petrol in the country is very cheap. The low prices make it more desirable for the public to use private transportation since it is affordable and this may not change anytime soon. Nonetheless, Saudi Arabia still has a public transport network.
It is, therefore, essential to look into the economic and societal impact public transportation has on the Saudi Arabian community. The research aims to assess the impact that public transportation in Saudi Arabia has on the economy and the society in the country. The paper gives insight into an understanding of the roles of public transport to the society and economy and the advantages and disadvantages in Saudi Arabia.
Objectives of the research
The findings of this research will be beneficial to the transport authority in Saudi Arabia. The outcome of this research will be able to show the influence of the public transport system to the economy and the society of Saudi Arabia. With this information, the transport authority will be in a position to recognize any disadvantages and modify the transport system to modify the disadvantages.
Literature review
The largest country in the Gulf region is Saudi Arabia occupying 2,149,690 square kilometers (Hunecke et. al., 2007). The area represents 80% of the Arabian Peninsula. As per a research was done in 2011 the population in Saudi Arabia was 27 million growing at a rate of 2.8 percent each year. The economy of Saudi Arabia is largely based on its oil production, and it has strict government controls. It is the largest oil exporter who doesn't come as a surprise given that 20 percent of the global oil reserves are found there. As of 2010 the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country was growing at a rate of 3.8 percent.
Most of the previous research done on the Saudi Arabian transport system focus on environmental degradation resulting from a large private transportation system in Saudi Arabia. Other research focuses on the attitudes of Saudi Arabians to the public transportation system. Therefore, the gap in this research is the effect of public transportation on the society and economy in Saudi Arabia.
Regardless of, the strong economy Saudi Arabia has, its public transportation system is poorly established. The state of the public transportation system can be attributed to the availability of affordable automobiles and the low oil prices that make it favorable for the citizens to use private transport (Howarth and Polyviou, 2012). As a result, there has been a steady increase in automobiles in the country resulting in congestion in the towns, accidents and a lot of pollution. In 2010, the country lost SAR 13.6 billion due to the accident related deaths that were 6,460 in number. Due to the issues resulting from the lack of an effective, organized public transport system, Saudi Arabia decided to make efforts to increase public transport in the country and to discourage private transport. The Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) is the main company in charge of redefining the public transport system in Saudi Arabia.
The increase in private cars in Saudi Arabia supports the local economic growth but contains a lot of negative effects on the environment, issues of safety, congestion, health issues, road fatalities, and traffic (Devuyst and Van Volsem, 2014). Having a sustainable public transportation network means that the competing needs that include, environmental, social or societal and economic needs are well balanced. The issues of the effect of public transport are common to many other countries in both developed and developing nations. In 2001, Van Volsem and Devuyst raised concerns about eh need of an instrument that could be used to gauge the effect of public transport on the economy and society in a country (Global Mass Transit, 2016).
There are three pillars of sustainability namely, society, economic and environmental. For a public transportation system to have a positive impact on the three areas, the system needs to be sustainable. This means that the system ought to benefit and not harm the three areas of sustainability. Also, to move to a more sustainable future in the public transport sector, it is vital that attitudes and behaviors of the public regarding public transportation change (Handy, Weston, and Mokhtarian, 2005). This means that the effect of the public transport system in Saudi Arabia can be analyzed in three perspectives, however, in this paper we will focus on the effect the transport system has on the society and the economy.
Research question
The primary research question guiding the research will be how public transportation in Saudi Arabia affects the society and the economy of the country.
Scope of the project
The project is estimated to be a low-cost project since the data collection methods used are not complicated, and there are no necessary exorbitant travel expenses.
Research Design
The research will be carried out in the capital city of Saudi Arabia that is Riyadh. The city is considered a good place to conduct the research since it is a hive of activity and it is in the city where public transport and private transport are prominent. Moreover, in the city, the economic and societal effects are more visible.
The data collection method to be used will be questionnaires. The participants are random people met on the streets and in eateries within the city. 2,500 questionnaires are distributed all over the city (ALI FAYYAZ, 2013). The questionnaires contain questions like; what is your opinion on the public transportation system and why? In your opinion, how does public transport affect the economy in Saudi Arabia? Do you use public transportation or private? Why? Participants were also asked to rate their views on issues such as pollution caused by large numbers of automobiles and traffic. A Likert scale was designed to rate the scores with 1 representing no problem and 5 representing a serious problem. The Likert scale was as follows 1- No problem, 2- slight problem, 3-neutral, 4-moderate problem, 5-serious problem.
Another method to be used in data collection in this study will be the use of secondary sources. The research required information of the variations in the Gross Domestic Product in Saudi Arabia at different periods in the existence of public transport. Information will be obtained from the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Saudi Public Transport Company that has estimates on the costs incurred due to lack of an efficient public transportation system, the annual number of accidents occurring and the rate of public transport use.
Data Analysis
The first question addressed whether the participant felt that public transportation had a positive effect on the economy and society. The participants will be supposed to rate it. The data will be analyzed depending on the scores on the Likert scale.
Data obtained from the World Resources Institute will be used to assess the variation in the gross domestic product for years where there is less public transportation use in Saudi Arabia as compared to years where there is high public transportation use (ALI FAYYAZ, 2013). Data obtained from the Saudi Public Transport Company will include statistics on the number of accidents in the country during the past four years. The rate of public transport users over the past four years. The data will then be compared that of the rate of public transport use and the one regarding the number of accidents to determine if there has been a decrease or increase of accidents with the use of public transport.
Ethical issues
Some of the ethical issues that will be involved in this research are informed consent. The individuals will be given an informed consent form which they will sign before filling the questionnaires (Oxford, 2014). Also, they will be given sufficient information regarding what the study involves, the purpose of the research and the possible benefits and risks associated with the study.
The participants will be assured that confidentiality would be maintained and to ensure this the participants will not be required to write down their names or any other information that could be traced back to them in the questionnaire. No deception will be used in the research.
On the issue of beneficence, the researchers will ensure that the information collected by the World Resources Institute is kept confidential and is only used in the research paper after gaining the informed consent of the organization.
Project Management
The project aims to find out the effects public transportation has on the society and economy in Saudi Arabia. The project involves collecting data through questionnaires and the collection of data from the World Resources Institute as well.
The communication involved in the research will be done via email, phone and face to face. Some of the questionnaires will be sent to individuals via email. No major costs will be incurred in the process of this research, and all funding is personal.
One of the risks that are likely to come up when conducting the research is that of information getting disclosed to the authorities and the participants getting to trouble for their views regarding the public transport system and its effect on society and the economy (Oxford, 2014). To protect the participants, no names or relevant personal data will be given in the questionnaires.
Below is the research timetable
Research Timetable
Conclusion
Public transportation is common and one of the main modes of transportation in many countries. However, in Saudi Arabia, there has been a lot of private transport leading to congestion, pollution, traffic, declining health among other effects. The research will aim to find out the effects public transport to the economy and society.
References
Anable, J., Lane, B. and Kelay, T. (2012) An evidence base review of public attitudes to climate change and transport behavior. New York: Columbia University Press.
Global Mass Transit: Public transport in Saudi Arabia: Embracing comprehensive mobility. (2016). Globalmasstransit.net. Retrieved 2 May 2016, from http://www.globalmasstransit.net/archive.php?id=6463
Oxford, B. G. (2014). The Report: Saudi Arabia 2014. London: Oxford Business Group.
ALI FAYYAZ, R. (2013). Poor public transport hits low-income group. Arab News. Retrieved 2 May 2016, from http://www.arabnews.com/news/458068
Devuyst, D and Van Volsem, S. (2014) Sustainable lifestyle assessment: How Green is the City? Sustainability Assessment and the Management of Urban Environments. NY: Columbia University Press.
Handy, S.,Weston, L. and Mokhtarian, P. (2005) Driving by choice or necessity, Transportation Research Part A. 39: 183-208.
Howarth, C and Polyviou,P. (2012) Sustainable travel behavior and the widespread impacts on the local economy, Local Economy. 27, (7): 764-781.
Hunecke, M., Haustein, S., Grischkat, S. and Böhler, S. (2007) Psychological, socio-demographic, and infrastructural determinants of the ecological impact caused by mobility behavior, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 6,(7): 277–292.
