Amman:Intercity bus ridership in Jordan experienced a significant surge of 58.8 percent in October 2026, with a total of 604,220 passengers utilizing the service compared to 380,422 in September. This increase of 223,798 riders highlights a positive trend in public transportation usage, as reported in an operational performance document released by the Land Transport Regulatory Commission (LTRC) on Tuesday.
According to Jordan News Agency, the growth in ridership was observed across all phases of the regular intercity transport project, involving 336 buses and two dedicated routes serving Al Balqa Applied University and Prince Hamza Hospital. The buses completed 28,542 trips, covering over 1.84 million kilometers, which translates to month-over-month increases of 21 percent and 22 percent, respectively.
The report detailed that intercity routes accounted for 468,425 passengers, marking a 55.8 percent increase. The Salt-Amman line led this growth, serving 99,620 passengers across 7,631 trips, a 33 percent rise. The Irbid-Amman line followed with 81,806 passengers, up 21 percent, and the Jerash-Amman route logged 42,004 riders, up 52 percent.
Southern routes also reported notable gains, with the Karak-Amman route serving 21,720 passengers and the Tafilah-Amman route rising 87 percent to 19,341 passengers. The Maan-Amman line expanded by 67 percent to 11,634 passengers. Northern and central cross-regional routes showed explosive growth, notably the Zarqa-Mafraq line, which jumped 279 percent to 80,569 passengers, and the Jerash-Irbid route, which rose 177 percent to 21,799 passengers.
Specialized routes also saw considerable increases in passenger numbers. The Sweileh-Al-Balqa Applied University route more than doubled, climbing 112.4 percent to 92,436 riders, while the Madaba-Prince Hamza Hospital route grew 20.2 percent to 43,359 passengers.
Service reliability remained high, with a perfect 100 percent schedule compliance on the Zarqa-Mafraq line and 99 percent compliance across several major regional routes. The LTRC noted that these figures reflect the public's growing reliance on structured bus transport and underscore the importance of maintaining frequent schedules to meet commuting demands.