ByBus is a first-of-its-kind public transport project in the Lebanese district of Jbeil, which like most of the rest of the country has long lacked public transit. (Credit: ByBus)
An unconventional scene has been unfolding over the past few weeks in Jbeil: nearly 50 bus stops have cropped up on roadsides, and a bus station has appeared in the heart of the city.
The developments are part of ByBus, a pilot public transport project in the district of Jbeil, which like most of the rest of the country has long lacked public transit. Its inauguration ceremony brought together a number of political figures, businessmen and local elected officials, including Ziad Hawat (LF/Jbeil), with whom the initiative originated.
ByBus is the first project of its kind in Lebanon, shuttling passengers from the center of the district through surrounding villages. In its first phase, eight buses will travel on seven different routes across Jbeil, including a route from the city to the capital. The buses are air-conditioned and secured by cameras, and boast internet connection, offering passengers more comfort than Lebanon’s traditional network of ramshackle public vans and buses do.
“There is a growing need for adequate public transport in Lebanon,” Hawat said at the launch ceremony in Jbeil Public Park.
The state has recently been bringing fuel subsidies to an end — without, however, putting forward any alternative plans that could alleviate exorbitant transportation costs.
Bybus tickets will cost a maximum of LL25,000 for the longest route — that is to say, to Beirut — but will cost no more than LL7,000 for those traveling 5 kilometers or less, with an additional cost of only LL700 for every additional kilometer.
“This project meets a pressing need in Lebanon. We started this initiative because the state has not done its job,” the project’s executive director, Youssef Kossaifi, told L’Orient-Le Jour.
“Bybus ensures the well-being of all passengers without exception,” Jbeil Mokhtar Adib Saliba says.
“We offered the project a 3,500-square-meter space free of charge so that it can see the light, because we believe that it will bring many benefits to the City of Jbeil and its local businesses, which will benefit from the flow of passengers in the main station,” Jbeil Mayor Wissam Zaarour says.
An innovation for Maad
The bus routes, all of which will pass through Jbeil City, cover trips to and from nearby villages, including Maad.
“This project is an initiative that the residents of Maad have eagerly waited for. They have never seen a bus or taxis passing through the village. However, there is a school, and [there are] more than 500 inhabitants in the village, including many students and employees who make a daily journey to the [nearby] cities and the capital,” says Tony Hajj, the mokhtar in Maad.
“This initiative enables the people to reside in the village in the summer and winter, without paying rent in the city with the start of the school and academic year, and it facilitates the movement of tourists, who are eager to discover our historical and archaeological sites,” he added.
‘Do not politicize this project’
Launched on Oct. 11, the project offered several free trials for residents. As ByBus picks up, the buses will make stops in more villages and travel greater distances. In parallel, a bus tracking app has been launched on Android and should soon be available for iOS users.
However, the fact that this development project was put in place by a politician a few months ahead of the upcoming legislative elections has raised questions about possible electioneering.
“Do not politicize this project, and do not relate it to a specific party and its partisans. I hope that its model will be applied everywhere in Lebanon,” Hawat stressed during his launch speech, pointing to a necessity for administrative decentralization in the country.
“This project is not an electoral initiative. ... It has existed since 2019 and has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the crisis the country has been plunged into. Several months will pass before elections are held. By then, ByBus will become a sustainable company capable of supporting itself and covering its own costs, without any help from anyone,” Kossaifi said.
This article was originally published in French in L’Orient-Le Jour. Translation by Joelle El Khoury.
The developments are part of ByBus, a pilot public transport project in the district of Jbeil, which like most of the rest of the country has long lacked public transit. Its inauguration ceremony brought together a...