Public welcomes bus fare exemptions, calls for modifications

AMMAN — People with disabilities and those above 65 years of age will be exempt from the new bus system’s fares recently launched by the Greater Amman Municipality, drawing mixed reactions from the public.

In a statement made available to The Jordan Times, Amman Mayor Yousef Shawarbeh said that “upon Royal directives, the two segments of society [those with disabilities or above 65 years of age] will be exempted from fares.”

It was not specified as to what disabilities will be included in the exemption, but the mayor said that the plan’s details will be released soon.

He added: “There will be a card given to those eligible for the exemption.”

The announcement drew mixed reactions from the public on social media, with some praising the move and others saying it is “not enough”.

For Rawan Shanableh, a citizen from Irbid, the decision represented “a gesture towards an inclusive public transport system”.

In a Tweet, she added: “Since forever in Jordan, public transport has always been inaccessible to people with disabilities. The new buses have a ramp and an equipped spot for them. Now, they are exempted from fares as well. This is all a good, new start.”

Moteb Atari, a medical student, said that he “strongly approves of the decision”, as he “used to see senior citizens riding the [old] buses every day, some of which could not afford the fare and would get kicked off by bus drivers or fare collectors”.

He claimed that he once saw an elderly man and his wife who could not pay for the bus fare and were “roughly [being] dragged off it until someone offered to pay their fare”.

“It was very disheartening, and I am glad this will not have to happen again,” he said on Twitter.

Others, however, called the announcement “ridiculous” and “not enough”.

“Above 65 years? That is ridiculous. Who rides the bus at that age? Retirement is at 55 to 60 years, depending on the gender. If they wanted to make exemptions for the elderly at least make it above 55 years old,” Niser Awad wrote in a Facebook comment.

Sireen Mordi, on Twitter, said that there should be exemptions for financially challenged students as well. 

She added: “Why not include university students who do not eat anything for the whole day because they only have the bus fare with them? Should they not be included as well? This is not enough.”