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THE Sharjah International Airport, which started an airport-city and city-airport bus service for arriving and departing passengers effective last month, is in the process of fine-tuning the timings in order to ascertain its reception, success and future expansion.
The 24-hour Airport City Link, which started on October 26, is currently operating with a fleet of three 34-seater buses, with plans to add bigger as well as more buses when there is a higher demand for the service, said Robert Tabet, Deputy Director General of the Sharjah Airport Authority.
The bus service, from the airport to Sharjah town and vice -versa, currently has three stops: near the Sharjah Airport Travel Agency's office (Sata) office, Qatar Airways' office and Indian Airlines' office.
"Future plans involve adding more points within Sharjah town, and there is also the possibility of extending the service to other emirates, after we study the feasibility," said Mr Tabet. "For now, our priority is to serve Sharjah and develop the service in this emirate."
The bus service timings are now being adjusted in accordance with the airport flight
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schedules, keeping in view the "peaks and troughs" of flight arrivals and departures, said Donald De Souza, Business Development Manager, Sharjah Airport Authority.
"As airline winter schedules have just come into effect, we are customising the timings again with a 15 to 20 minute change here or there," said Mr De Souza. Bus timings ensure that the passenger reaches the airport at least two-and-a-half hours before the flight departure.
"The first two weeks promise to take us on a very quick learning curve," said Mr De Souza. It took three to four months for the service to be planned and to evolve, and the one-way per person fare of Dh3 (no charge on baggage) is actually highly subsidised, he added.
On every trip, the bus attendant assisting the driver maintains a trip sheet which must be filled out with comments on each journey, such as how many passengers took the bus, whether there were any problems encountered, et al. The airport authority has written to travel agents to apprise their passengers about the service.
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