Baghdad Today – Baghdad

After the Iraqi government announced, yesterday, Thursday, the launch of the investment opportunity for the Baghdad Metro project, which will accommodate three million people daily in the capital, Baghdadi residents have been waiting for the birth of this long-awaited project for years, while the announced numbers raise important questions about the project and its consequences.

According to what the government announced, those who will travel via the metro will constitute 3 million people daily, and this number constitutes approximately 50% of the total daily commuters in Baghdad during official working hours, according to a digital analysis conducted by “Baghdad Today.”

Low turnout and little public transportation

From the Baghdad Metro, “Baghdad Today” takes a look at the reality of public transportation in Iraq, especially Baghdad. According to government data, there are more than 1,200 public transportation buses affiliated with the Ministry of Transport in Iraq, of which only 644 buses are operating, or 53%, and the amount is 53%. The total number of seats is more than 68 thousand seats, but in 2022 the number of passengers traveling on these buses within Baghdad reached only about 4,500 people.

On the other hand, the General Traffic Directorate estimates that during official working hours more than 3.5 million wheels move in Baghdad daily.

While the population of Baghdad, according to estimates by the Ministry of Planning, is 9 million out of 43 million people, or 20%, if this percentage is also dropped on the number of Iraqi employees, which amounts to 4.5 million employees, there will be 900 thousand employees in Baghdad alone, and in the same way there are 2.6 million students move around in Baghdad, out of 13 million students in Iraq, according to the Ministry of Education, in addition to more than 150,000 students in universities in Baghdad.

This means that there are 3.6 million students and employees moving around Baghdad every day, excluding the rest of the visitors to government departments, earners and private sector employees. This indicates that at least more than 6 million Iraqi citizens move around Baghdad every day.

But only less than 5,000 people traveled on government public transport buses, or 0.8% of the total number of commuters.

This raises questions about whether the Baghdad Metro will succeed in kidnapping half of the daily commuters in Baghdad, as its capacity is to transport 3 million citizens daily in Baghdad, which will require many to abandon their wheels and move towards transportation by metro.

It is noteworthy that the Baghdad Metro project consists of 7 lines and 14 road stations distributed among regions; Al-Alawi, Al-Shaab, Aviation Square, Al-Baladiyat, Al-Kadhimiya, Baghdad Airport, Al-Dora, Maysalun Square, Al-Zafaraniyah, Aden Square, Al-Bayaa, and Al-Qadisiyah, and passes in multiple lanes, with a transport capacity of up to three million passengers per day, and covers 85% of the area of ​​the capital, Baghdad. According to the Ministry of Transport.