Improving Public Transport Infrastructure (Development Phase)

Transportation in the West Bank faces extreme challenges due to its unique political and security situation. Mobility for people and goods is severely hampered, with consequent impacts on the broader functioning of the society and the economy. The project aims to provide an integrated solution to improve passenger bus services in the West Bank by combining necessary investments in new buses and associated bus facilities with parallel institutional reform implemented by the Ministry of Transport (MoT) in order to support the long-term financial sustainability of the sector. In doing so the project will benefit the economic and social functioning of the West Bank. The proposed project aims to reverse the cycle of decline in the sector by:1) Providing new buses maintenance and storage facilities and other associated infrastructure to ensure that operators can meet service requirements,2) Ensuring the on-going sustainability of the sector through the introduction of appropriate tariffs and lease rates,3) Supporting the parallel continuation of the consolidation of services and defining clear servicestandards for bus companies,4) Supporting parallel institutional/organisational reform of the sector.