Hashemite University students to boycott AutoBus for one week over 'poor services'

AMMAN — Hashemite University students on Sunday decided to boycott the Mutakamilah Transportation (AutoBus) Company for one week to express their outrage over the "poor service". 

The measure is one of several activities the students plan to hold this week in protest against the company's services, according to Ibrahim Obeidat, the head of student and transport affairs at the Zarqa-based university's student council. 

The decision was taken after two female students were injured recently while using the bus, with one of them admitted to hospital suffering from mild burns. 

"We are going to boycott AutoBus until Thursday and are planning to stay at the university on Tuesday. We will also gather outside the Ministry of Transport on Thursday to express our demands," Obeidat told The Jordan Times over the phone.

He said students will try to find new means of transportation during this week and those who have cars will give their colleagues a ride. 

Hashemite University President Kamal Al Deen Bani Hani said he supports students' demands. 

"Since the establishment of the university, the problem of transportation has been ongoing. The university is located outside the city and it needs a good-quality transportation system," he told The Jordan Times. 

Bani Hani said the university is not responsible for transportation, noting that the government, represented by the Transport Ministry and the Land Transport Regulatory Commission (LTRC), is in charge of this issue. 

"They [the ministry and LTRC] signed the contract with the company [AutoBus] and they have to work to resolve this problem. As president of this university, I ordered the improvement of the transportation complex at the university and organised the lecture timetable so it corresponds with the trip schedule," he added. 

Bani Hani noted that the company has to provide 120 buses, but it only operates 70 buses, which he described as "rickety". 

"If the company cannot manage to abide by the contract, I urge the government to find a new company." 

Transport Minister Lina Shbeeb said the company has a shortage of vehicles and the ministry will try to resolve the problem. 

"The financial situation of the company does not enable it to provide a great number of buses. However, there is an agreement that the company, 61 per cent of whose shares are government-owned, will work on developing and boosting its services soon," she told The Jordan Times over the phone.  

Shbeeb noted that the head of the LTRC visited the university on Sunday to keep its management posted on the latest developments. 

Several students commented on the council's Facebook page this week, expressing support for the boycott decision.

Abdulbaset Abbas called for terminating the contract with AutoBus, while Sanad Harb expressed his support for Thursday's demonstration outside the Transport Ministry. 

"Where is the ministry located? On Thursday I will definitely be there," he wrote. 

Obeidat said 30 students walked from the university, some 22km east of Amman, to Raghadan complex in the capital this week in protest against AutoBus.

"It took them seven hours to reach the complex," he added. 

In previous remarks to The Jordan Times, Obeidat said AutoBus vehicles take students from stops at the Raghadan complex, Bayader Wadi Seer, Yajouz and Sahab to the university.

He noted that students pay JD0.55 per trip.