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Post by JamRock on May 23, 2012 9:10:22 GMT
Hi All,
I am just newly registered to this forum but having been reading from the sidelines for a couple of months as I prepare for life in KSA. I'm moving out from the UK this weekend and will be housed in Abqaiq, initially by myself but my wife will be joining me in a few months time. However, I will be working in Dhahran.
I was just wondering about travel from Abqaiq to Dhahran. I plan to get the bus initially - how long does it take? I've read various different accounts of it taking between 45 mins and 1.5 hours, so I'm not really sure what to expect!
I plan to eventually get my Saudi driver's license and buy a car, does anyone do a car share on the commute between Abqaiq and Dhahran?
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Post by soverydeb on May 24, 2012 12:54:02 GMT
45 mins to 1.5 hours is correct. It all depends on the traffic, construction, accidents...
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Post by JamRock on May 31, 2012 18:40:33 GMT
I guess now that I'm here I should really respond to my own post ...
One thing I've noticed in the few days since I've been here is the shear amount of mis-information that New Hires have to wade through in order to find out the most basic of things. Given this I hope to be able to give anyone else reading this forum the correct information they are looking for instead of having to assess the merits of 5 or 6 potential answers given to them for the same question!
The bus from Abqaiq to Dhahran does not take 45 mins. Anyone who tells you this is wrong. Depending on where you are going inside Dhahran it will take 1 hour at the absolute minimum. The service is pretty sp also, if you miss one bus it is typically another 2 to 3 hours until the next one arrives.
I work in Dhahran and have to catch the 5:30am bus (yes, 5:30am!) from Abqaiq to Dhahran. If I miss this one the next one comes at 7am. The timetables given to me were not up-to-date, some say the bus is 5:45am but these are wrong.
ABQ seems OK. My house is pretty nice and the facilities such as the gym, swimming pool and tennis courts all seem top notch. The food halls on site aren't great but they will do until I get more settled in. It is very quiet here at present but I think that ABQ is due to fill up over the next few months, as both DH and RT are full (to non-American ex-pats anyway).
I'm liking the adventure so far the only downside is the commute and the total lack of flexibility with the bus service. Aramco really need to get more buses running, especially if they plan to pack ABQ with folk who work in DH.
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Post by Red on Jun 5, 2012 11:26:38 GMT
Thank you jam rock you have just answered the question I was going to ask...can I also ask ,
If you leave ABQ at 5.30 what time do you generally arrive back ? Are the buses back also so infrequent?
Thanks
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Post by Oilcowboy on Jun 5, 2012 19:16:45 GMT
Welcome to Abqaiq. Yes, you've summarized the situation up really nicely. There has been various attempts to get a more flexible bus service, unfortunately without any results. Up to a year ago the bus back from DH left at 3:30pm, but this was changed to 4:10pm. Interesting that people working in ABQ and commuting in the opposite direction get to leave at 3:30pm.Accidents are a very frequent occurence on the highway, I counted 7 so far this week with the dust storm. More and more expats are forced to commute by private car due to the crazy bus schedule which is not an ideal situation.
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Post by GroveWanderer on Jun 6, 2012 5:59:29 GMT
Somehow, the lengthy quotation I had put on here has disappeared, so there's no point in retaining the post. I can't find a way to delete it so I've just over-written it.
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Post by JamRock on Jun 6, 2012 20:52:02 GMT
Yes, as one of the other posters suggested the buses back are very infrequent. You have to get the 4:10pm bus back from the DH ballpark. I don't arrive back into my home until between 5:30pm and 5:45pm. It depends on the person and to what level this all bothers you but people need to be made more aware of the issues of commuting by Aramco before they decide to pack up their lives to come out here.
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Post by Oilcowboy on Jun 6, 2012 20:54:07 GMT
There are various ways to look at the commute. In most western countries your avee commuter wil easily spend 30 min to an hour on a commute to work. However, the commute will probably be much safer. Also in Aramco only the non-US payroll is expected to live in and commute from Abqaiq. If you work in the Midra tower the Abqaiq bus will drop you at 6:40 and you will see your DH buddies trickle in from 7 onwards.
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Post by Asterix on Jun 10, 2012 13:34:13 GMT
o JamRock,
Are there different housing assignment for US and European citizen ? This is what I understand from you post ? As EU, could we not get housing in DH ?
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Post by treeclogs on Jun 14, 2012 10:00:02 GMT
US/Canadian payroll get in to DH automatically.
All others are placed in ABQ since RT is full.
There is currently no currency protection plan in anticipation for Euro payroll as is with GBP.
ABQ residents are subject to 13 hour days including the commute. 5.30am-5.30pm excluding getting to and from commissary and lead time allowing for not missing the bus.
This pretty much forces you to buy a biggish (safe) car to make your own way to work, which cuts the commute by a lot (%). Hope this helps.
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Post by vidalbra on Jun 14, 2012 11:19:15 GMT
It is indeed a very annoying situation, as its a 12-13 hours shift and work-like balance goes out the window.
Buses are very inflexible, leave from 1-2 bus stops only initially so you have to allow 10-15 minutes walking time to get to the bus stop depending where you live in the camp - sometimes in the heat, dust or sand storm.
Buses are becoming crowded so soon if you take the bus in the last stops, there will be no seats available - and will be left wondering how to get to work.
It's a bumpy ride terrible for your back and an EXTREMELY unsafe trip, if you're coueous enough to watch the window, it feels like you're playing a video-game mesmerized at how the bus driver has to avoid crazy-driving to crash onto the bus - every sec of the trip. The concept of speed limits, lanes, signaling, safe take-over and give-the-way simply does not exist. Notice the "guard-rails" that divide the roads, hundreds of missing/knock-down poles.
You will also see daily accidents along the trip, both ways - completely destroyed cars, of course as speeding is common and the road is shared with 18-wheelers. Evenings are even worst, as some portion of the road towards Abqaiq do not have light poles, therefore very dark.
Sometimes you are just unlucky, the bus can and will breakdown on the road - has happened twice with me thus far in the 2 months.
I'm very concerned about Ramadam period, where driving is known to be 1000x worst on the roads, although some will be allowed to leave earlier, other may not - so the video-gaming level will be risen to Very Difficult.
I heard Aramco is working on potential solutions, but at its on pace so we need to sit, wait and do lots of praying.
Fortunately for americans/canadians colleagues, this is not a concern for you for the time being...
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Post by Asterix on Jun 15, 2012 4:51:45 GMT
Thanks for the answers,
This make things harder since we are planning to enroll our kids in French school in Khobar !!! Living in ABQ, make it just impossible to manage !
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Post by vpainter on Jun 18, 2012 7:19:00 GMT
There are those who choose to live outside Dhahran.
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mid
Member
Posts: 16
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Post by mid on Jun 22, 2012 10:11:10 GMT
The other problem we noticed in the school is the inflexibility on the child age.
A child is considered if she/he completes 4 years before SEPT, this makes it unfair to any child born few months after SEPT with no escape to other schools outside camp because for RT and ABQ there is none, while for DH there is a choice.
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Post by JamRock on Jun 22, 2012 15:17:27 GMT
GroveWanderer,
I note you are based in Dhahran, so perhaps you've never done the Abqaiq commute to Dhahran yourself? No-one from Aramco wants to have to break the speed limit whilst driving because there is a high likelihood that you will be caught by one of Aramco's own speedtraps on the highway. My understanding is that 3 strikes and you are out.
In terms of start and end points, I think your point is a very peculiar way to look at things, unless you have a vested interest in getting people to agree to move to Abqaiq? I only have one start point (my home) and one end point (my office) in my mind.
Also the buses do not travel anywhere near the speed limit, if anything they are frustratingly slow. The journey certainly does not take an hour, it takes 1.5 hours as I have stated before.
Commuters have also got the problem in the evening that you must go through 3 consecutive checkpoints, which adds about 20 mins onto your journey time. At each checkpoint the guards meticulously check every single bus passenger's ID before going on camp. Once is fair enough but 3 times?! Why?
Of course none of this information is relayed to ex-pats before they blissfully sign their lives away to live in Abqaiq. I was told that Dhahran was full before I left the UK. However, people I've met in Dhahran tell me that the houses either side of them are lying empty. If only I had a US passport, life would be much simpler ...
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