One of the great things about writing these blogs is it keeps me from getting bored and people set me loads of challenges to achieve while I wait to move to the Philippines. In my last week in Dubai when I published a vlog and blog about the RTA network there my old friend Neil G , in Bahrain, reminded me I had promised to write a blog about going around Bahrain on a Bus!
He even sent me a newspaper clipping to show how cheap it would be ( much appreciated in the current tough economic climate, Thanks Neil 1) . Then when I was writing about Askar and sharing the story about Carl Max finding out about the bus network from the Kerala Bus driver resting there I thought " I know who to help me with my planning!" I messaged Carl , who is on Vacation in Kerala and he sent me a lot of useful information and the Bahrain Bus website Link where I found the above map.
One of the buses Carl Max used to get to get around Bahrain
Bahrain Public Transport Company (bahrainbus.bh)
"Tell us a story about the Buses Mr P?"
"Thanks , Mr G, for the reminder!"
Now I have left Bapco I can reveal that in the dim dark distant past when I was working for a rather unpleasant Manager I went for a series of job interviews. One was a the Gulf Hotel, but sadly they had just recruited someone from overseas who had that day accepted the offer! Another was with the Bahrain Public Transport Company - who had just won the tender to take over the bus service in Bahrain.
"BPTC is a private joint venture between leading UK-based international transport providers National Express Group plc and Bahrain-based Ahmed Mansour Al Aali (AMA), the largest and longest-established contracting and construction group in the Kingdom of Bahrain."
Source: https://bahrainbus.bh/en/about/bptc ( accessed 6.3.22)
Neil starts the last ILM 2 Programme with Fares and Linju
They were thrilled with my CV and the work I had done with Veolia Transport and their National Express operations in the UK. I showed them the workbooks I had produced for Business Post ( a UK Parcel delivery company ) and the various IOSH Training courses I had designed on Health and Safety. I also described the Customer care programmes I had run for Bapco Security and Awali Hospital and of course, my Leadership programmes accredited by ILM. Sadly when they offered me the job the salary was well below what I was getting with Bapco and so I declined their offer.
Just imagine I could have been " On the buses!"
Inspector Blakey in the UK TV series, "On the Buses"!
Carl explained to me , in a long What's app message :
" There is an app that I used to see the bus timings...and Friday and Saturday has different bus routes and timings compared to other days .
There are two options relating to the bus ticket...Frist you can pay 300fils and travel from your start to your end point. If you get down after one stop you will pay 300 fills but if you go 10 stops you will still only pay 300fils as long as you stay on the same bus all the way."
Carl Max enjoying the beautiful scenery on vacation in Kerala
He explained that in India each bus is run by two employees, the bus driver and the bus conductor who collects the money and issues the tickets...but in Bahrain it's different as there is only one person ..the bus driver who sits at the front. When the bus stops he opens the bus doors....so whoever enters the bus has to pay 300fils to the bus driver before he can get in and collect his ticket.
He went on to explain :
"The second option is to buy a bus card...This costs 1bd and you get 500 fills of free travel. It has 5 years validity. The advantage of the bus card is that it charges only 250fils . So you just need to top it up with an ATM kind of machine inside the bus itself.
Another advantage of the card is that in a day the first time you travel they charge 250 fills and second time you travel they charge 250fils and the third time you travel they charge 100fils. After the third journey it's free for the rest of that day. The next day you start again with 250 fills and so on.
The Manama Bus Terminal at Night by Carl Max
So if you are travelling around Bahrain on one day it's really good value! Once I started at Asry and went to Hidd . I got down there and did some shopping then I got another bus to Muhurraq.
A couple of things to note about travelling on the bus in Bahrain. First drinking coffee or juice is not allowed inside the bus. Second never sit in first three rows of seats in the bus, these are reserved for women. If there are no women inside the bus you can sit there but if a woman gets on you must give them a seats . If you sit there when the bus is empty and have to move to the back as the bus fills up you may find that there are not any seats at the back. So, my advice, is always take a seat at the back of the bus"
The X6A bus arrives in Askar - it runs from Manama Terminal 1 to Madinat Khalifa - every 60 minutes and every 30 minutes on Friday
The amazing thing about the website is if you click on each icon it will give you the details of where it is- for example central market
When Carl used to visit my apartment for a curry he would come by bus and then walk the last part. I would then drive him back to the bus stop at Hidd Lulu and on the way would ask when the bus would be there . He would check the app on his phone and tell me in how many minutes the bus would arrive!
Having never travelled on a bus in Bahrain in 12 years here I found Carl's advice and the Bahrain Bus website really useful. His time talking to the bus driver at Askar paid off!
So I then started to plan my route for Friday 11.3.22, my day on the buses in Bahrain. My objective was to cover as much of Bahrain as possible in one day by bus, for as little money as possible and to record this in a Blog and Vlog as I travelled .
First I needed to buy a GO card:
The website informed me :
"GO Cards are widely obtainable and can be purchased from the following locations:
- Ticket offices at Manama, Isa Town and Muharraq.
- Ticket Vending Machines located at Manama, Isa Town and Muharraq Bus Terminals.
- Ticket Vending Machine at University of Bahrain.
- The Drivers.
- One of our sales team.
There is an initial fee of 500Fils when first purchasing a GO Card and it can then be reloaded with any amount of credit up to a maximum of BD 50".
Source: https://bahrainbus.bh/en/go-card/where-can-you-buy-go-card ( accessed 6.3.22)
"Capping is a feature of pay as you go which allows you to make a number of journeys in a single day but limits the amount you pay for your travel. Each time you make a journey, you are charged a fare of 250 Fills. Once the total cost of all your fares reaches 600 Fills you won't have to pay for any more journeys for the rest of the day. This is called a cap. To use The DAILY CAP you need a GO Card."
Source: https://bahrainbus.bh/en/go-card/what-daily-cap ( accessed 6.3.22)
Next I sat down with the map and worked out the sequence of bus routes I would use to cover the maximum distance and then made a note of the bus numbers, start and end points on a piece of paper which I took with me.
The route I planned to take was from Hidd ( near where I live ) Lulu ( where I parked my car for the day) to Muhurraq bus station on the 22 Bus ( 20 mins according to Carl). Then on the 22 again back to Manama Bus terminal where I will change onto the X6A to Askar ( East coast ). I had hoped to go for a walk on the beach here and have my lunch ( I still had to get in my 5000 steps and take 5 photos for my challenge with Gerda and do 16 hours fasting and 8 hours eating to get to 102 kg- my challenge from Bazz in Dubai!) . In the afternoon I planned to go from Askar to Souq Waqif ( which requires a change of bus on the way at Ma'ameer) and from there on the A2 bus to the University of Bahrain. From UOB the A2 goes to the Airport. Originally I planned to go further but I was too exhausted so cut the journey short at the airport, had dinner, and then got a final bus back to Hidd at 7 pm.
Heading south to Askar on the X6 from Manama Bus Terminal
Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
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