'Sila' to provide integrated public transport services

With a slew of new features that integrate and further strengthen the public transport sector in Qatar, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) on Thursday opened Sila Operation Centre. The facility which will function as the nucleus of Qatar’s Public Transport Integrated Services was opened by HE the Minister of Transport Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti.HE the Minister of Municipality Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Subaie and the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) president Dr Engineer Saad bin Ahmad al-Muhannadi along with senior officials from MoT were present.With Sila Brand Management and Wayfinding, Unified Electronic Ticketing hub and related payment systems, Central Clearing house and test authority, the centre complements the work of the National Transport Co-ordination Centre and the Land Transport Safety Committee."Sila is the latest system that benefits the whole public transport system while giving information and updates about various modes of transportation," HE al-Sulaiti told Gulf Times.“We launched Sila with the mission to bring together Qatar’s public transport modes into an integrated network, offering people the smartest choices for travel and supporting the country’s ongoing development," he pointed out. The Minister of Transport described that the Sila Operation Centre ''will become a hub for all future sustainable public transport milestones, aiming to achieve a fundamental change in Qatar’s public transport network and enhance its efficiency to create a more connected and sustainable transport network for generations to come." In the past few years, the MoT has made strides in effectively improving public transport in Qatar, thereby encouraging its usage. The initiatives included enhancement in public transport services such as introducing new modes of public transport, integration of a multimodal transport system, and launching Sila, which brings together the public transport network through services such as a journey planner through its app and website.The MoT's Technical Affairs Department director Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalid al-Thani noted that Sila is the result of an ambitious vision to connect individual public transport modes and create a sustainable future, ultimately benefiting citizens, residents, and tourists alike. Sila currently includes the metro, bus, tram, and taxi. “It’s being launched in phases and will include several initiatives such as integrated payment options, introducing new services and transport modes and promoting the public transport network through public awareness and marketing initiatives to reach a wide audience within Qatar,” he explained.Once integrated payment options are fully launched, the Sila call centre will focus on managing all 'financial' passenger inquiries related to ticketing and journey planning, among others, while the individual public transport modes’ call centers will continue to manage all non-financial inquiries. Qatar’s citizens and residents are encouraged to follow Sila’s social media pages to get the latest updates. (Facebook: @silaqatar, Instagram: @sila_qatar & Twitter: @sila_qatar).