In force
Saudi Road Transport Law
نظام النقل العام على الطرق
Regulates public passenger and freight transport on roads in Saudi Arabia, including concessions and licenses, bus and truck transport, supervision and penalties. It concerns transport operators and the Ministry of Transport.
- Articles
- 24
- In force
- 24
- Amended
- 0
- Issued
- 1/1/1397 AH
Issued by: مرسوم ملكي رقم م/25 بتاريخ 21 / 6 / 1397 · قرار مجلس الوزراء رقم 779 بتاريخ 13 / 6 / 97
Each article shows the official Arabic text, which is the only legally binding version, followed by our plain-English explanation.
Browse Road Transport Law by topic
Public Passenger Transport by Bus4 articlesThe Public Transport Concession and Concessionaire Conditions6 articlesLicensing Transport and Amending Routes2 articlesSupervising the Concessionaire and Forfeiting the Concession3 articlesFreight Transport by Truck8 articlesPowers of the Ministry of Transport6 articlesPublic Transport Violations and Penalties1 article
Articles of the Saudi Road Transport Law
- Article 1The article treats passenger transport by buses, each built to carry at least eight people, operating regularly on a fixed route open to anyone for a set fare, as a public utility.
- Article 2The article provides that public collective passenger transport by bus within cities and between neighboring cities is by concession for a limited period, unless the government decides to manage it itself.
- Article 3The article governs granting the public collective transport concession by Royal Decree for no more than 15 years, renewable, and authorizes the Minister of Transport to choose among applicants and issue the concession's conditions.
- Article 4The article requires the concessionaire to be a Saudi or a Saudi company with Saudis holding at least 51% of capital throughout the concession, and allows the State to take a share in public transport companies.
- Article 5The article allows the Minister of Transport to operate transport lines by license before the concession is granted, during its procedures, or when it cannot continue, for no more than a year, renewable.
- Article 6The article allows the Minister of Transport, by decision, to modify routes, cancel some or add new ones before or after the concession, and to add new routes to the concessionaire for the remaining period on the same conditions.
- Article 7The article creates a committee in each city, chaired by the transport department director, that supervises concession contracts and licenses, inspects companies, records violations and proposes penalties to the Minister of Transport.
- Article 8The article allows the granting authority to forfeit a concession and confiscate the security in five cases, including refusing to operate, deviating from the route, overcharging and assigning the concession without approval, with the right to claim compensation.
- Article 9The article requires the Minister of Transport to issue a regulation governing small taxis in a way that coordinates them with public bus operations and serves the interest of the transport service.
- Article 10The article exempts from the preceding provisions buses used by ministries, agencies, institutes, schools and others to carry their own personnel, as long as they are not used outside their designated purpose.
- Article 11The article requires the concession holder to build the terminals at the start and end of lines and the intermediate waiting stations to Ministry of Transport specifications, with ownership passing to the State when the concession ends without renewal.
- Article 12The article allows the Minister of Transport to divide the Kingdom's public roads into transport zones by administrative division and transport needs, to regulate truck operations in them and to set traffic rules.
- Article 13The article allows the Minister of Transport, on the proposal of the competent committees, to set the number of trucks licensed to carry goods and equipment in the zones according to transport need.
- Article 14The article gives the Minister of Transport the power to set, by his decision, the rules governing licensing for carrying goods and equipment for a fee.
- Article 15The article allows a concession to carry goods and equipment for a fee in one or more zones to be granted to a natural or legal person, following the procedures and rules in Chapter One of the Law.
- Article 16The article assigns to the Ministry of Transport, in agreement with the traffic department, the setting of permitted transit routes in major cities when necessary, and prohibits violating them.
- Article 17The article prohibits unloading or placing goods and equipment on public roads and their sidewalks, or on land that is unbuilt or not surrounded by outer walls.
- Article 18The article gives the Minister of Transport the power to set the various fares for carrying goods and equipment per measurement unit, a ton per kilometer.
- Article 19The article subjects goods and equipment transport in all its forms to the preceding provisions, including transport on owners' own trucks, fuel and containers and tipper trucks, and exempts government trucks assigned to their work.
- Article 20The article makes the Ministry of Transport responsible for regulating and supervising the transport sector except air transport, and lists seven duties including planning, research, agreements, statistics, fares and supervising companies.
- Article 21The article entitles the Minister of Transport to issue the regulatory and implementing regulations relating to any provision of the Law.
- Article 22The article protects the transport service's fixed and movable property by prohibiting seizing it, attaching it, or acquiring it by prescription.
- Article 23The article punishes violators of the Law or its regulations with the Traffic Law penalty, or with a fine of SAR 500 to 5,000 if there is none, and permits barring the truck, its driver or its owner or suspending licenses.
- Article 24The article provides that the Law is published in the Official Gazette and takes effect from the date of its publication.