Transforming bus transport in MENA: leadership, innovation and operations

H.E. Dr. Rumaih AL-Rumaih is the Vice Minister Of Transport & Logistic Services.  He has more than 25 years of experience in the public and private sectors between the executive and operational management. AL-Rumaih gained a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Colorado and an MBA from the University of Leicester.

AL-Rumaih began his career in KACST in the field of scientific and academic research and was a part-time
consultant in the Ministry of Defence. Afterward, he worked in the private sector in executive positions, such as the Deputy CEO of Operation, then a CEO at Saudi Railway Company (SAR), then the President of the Saudi
Railways Organization. Subsequently, he became the President of TGA and the Deputy Minister Of Transport & Logistic Services.
AL-Rumaih chaired several boards and committees, including Saudi Railway Polytechnic, and Saudi Logistics
Academy, and served as a member of the board in SAGIA, GACA, and Tabadul.

Muna Al Osaimi is a distinguished leader with expertise in strategic planning, specializing in transportation and urban development. She holds a bachelor degree in architecture from the United Arab Emirates University and an Executive Master in Big Data and Business Analytics from ESCP (École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris) French Business School. Her strategic initiatives benefit from her unique combination of architectural insight and analytical acumen.

Muna, a Board Member at Parkin Company and a prominent figure within the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy plays a crucial role in shaping strategic policies and initiatives that drive regional progress. Her active involvement in the Dubai Urban Planning Coordination Committee underscores her commitment to advancing sustainable urban development.

With more than 19 years of extensive experience, Muna specializes in strategic planning, urban design, transportation planning, policy formulation, and project portfolio management. Her 11-year tenure in railway planning and design has resulted in significant contributions to landmark projects such as the Dubai Metro and Dubai Tram, both of which have transformed the transportation landscape of the region.

Eng. Ola Al-Kafawin is the Executive Director of Public Transport and Transport Infrastructure Development at the Greater Amman Municipality, Jordan, with over two decades of experience, primarily in transport planning and public transport development, alongside expertise in traffic engineering.

She has contributed to the development of Amman’s BRT and Amman Bus networks, with a focus on public transport planning, network development, and sustainable urban mobility.

A transportation expert with over 30 years of professional experience including municipal work and technical consultation to United States federal, national, state, and local transportation agencies; research and service; education; management, international association, and program development. Ayman was the Director of UITP MENA between 2016 and 2022 and Executive Director of Transport and Traffic Management in the Greater Amman Municipality between 2008 and 2016.

Diego Silva López is a senior mobility and public transport professional with over 12 years of experience in the planning, management and transformation of large-scale bus systems. At Santiago’s Metropolitan Public Transport Authority, he led strategy and contract management across a concession portfolio covering 15 contracts, nine operators and around 7,000 buses, while overseeing major fleet renewal programmes, including the deployment of more than 3,600 electric buses. His experience spans bus network and service planning, operational performance, concession management, infrastructure integration and complex multi-stakeholder delivery. A Civil Engineer from the University of Chile with an MSc in Transport Planning from the University of Leeds in the UK and a UITP Diploma for Public Transport Managers, Diego brings a public authority perspective on how BRT and bus systems can deliver impact beyond infrastructure through effective operations, integration and governance.

Büşra Buran received the M.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineering from Galatasaray University, in 2012 and is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Management Engineering at Istanbul Technical University (ITU). She is working for ten years. She worked in different departments of IETT such as planning, BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), and service improvement. She currently works as a strategy development manager at the IETT that is the bus transportation authority for Istanbul. She is responsible for the strategic plan, key performance indicators, project management, quality management, energy management, innovation, benchmarking.

Ismail Dahel is a senior public transport technology professional with over 16 years of experience in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) across North America and the Middle East and North Africa. His public transport career began in 2008 and has included leadership roles in business development, systems engineering, sales engineering, project management, and engineering management.

Ismail currently serves as Senior Business Development Manager for the Middle East and North Africa at INIT, where he works closely with public transport authorities and operators to develop integrated technology solutions addressing their operational and customer requirements.

His expertise covers Automated Fare Collection (AFC), Account-Based Ticketing (ABT), CAD/AVL, real-time passenger information, Automatic Passenger Counting (APC), and systems integration. His combination of technical, project, and commercial experience provides him with a practical perspective on the evolution of fare collection toward account-based ticketing, integrated payments, and more customer-centric public transport.

Prior to his current role, Ismail held senior engineering and solutions positions in North America and worked on major public transport projects in the United States and Canada. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from École Polytechnique de Montréal and an MBA from North Carolina State University.

Rachel has a BA (Hons) in Geography from University of Oxford and holds the inaugural Masters in Carbon Management from University of Edinburgh Business School. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.

Since graduating from Oxford, Rachel worked as a consultant beginning her career as a transport planner with WSP then worked for a start-up advising companies in the transport sector on how to reduce their carbon emissions. She then set up her own firm (Surbon Consulting) in the UK supporting transport operators such as Keolis, Go-Ahead, Serco and MTR on  business development and contract mobilisation  covering contract management, sustainability and customer experience. She has worked across all modes of transport: rail, metro, bus, ferry and cycle hire and more recently electric scooters. She set up a UAE branch of Surbon Consulting in 2017 and has delivered work in UAE, Qatar and Saudi.

She has been a member of UITP since 2015 and has found the conferencing and training courses offered by UITP extremely valuable. She has been an UITP trainer delivering training to TGA (Saudi), RTA (Dubai) and LTA (Singapore).

Bassam Alshabatat is the Business Leader for ABB E-mobility in the Middle East and Africa region. He is responsible for driving the adoption of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and delivering charging solutions for all vehicle segments, including passenger cars, trucks, buses, and autonomous mobility applications.

Working with one of the world’s leading EV charging brands, Bassam has been involved in some of the largest e-mobility projects in the region, including the world’s largest electric bus charging depot in Qatar and large-scale charging infrastructure deployments supporting Dubai’s taxi fleet electrification initiatives.

With more than 15 years of experience in renewable energy, power distribution, and EV charging solutions, he has supported the development of complete energy ecosystems, from grid infrastructure to end-user charging requirements, helping customers accelerate their transition toward sustainable transportation.

Youssef Hosny is Manager – Electric Mobility at Emirates Global Motor Electric (EGME), part of Al-Fahim Group in the UAE. With over six years of experience in electric mobility, he specialises in electric buses, electric trucks and turnkey fleet electrification solutions.

Since joining EGME, Youssef has led fleet electrification projects for major logistics, industrial and public transport customers, covering Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) modelling, vehicle and charging solutions, OEM coordination and fleet deployment.

With a background in Automotive Engineering and experience spanning product development, fleet operations and strategic partnerships, he brings a practical perspective on scaling electric commercial transportation and developing the wider ecosystem required to support its adoption across the UAE and MENA region.

Jaspal Singh has 16+ years of experience in mobility, innovation, and technology space. He is currently serving as the Senior Director of Membership and Global Operations (MGO) at UITP (International Association of Public Transport). His earlier roles include serving as the Manager of the IT and Innovation Committee and as the Head of the UITP India Office.

He is also the host of Mobility Innovators Podcast. He has a 360-degree view of the sector as he has worked with the public agencies, operator, startups, and consulting firms.

He is also Principal at Valoriser Consultants, Inc. specializing in new mobility, cleantech, startups, electric mobility, and ITS. Previously, he was working with a public transit authority, reforming the urban transport system in India. In past, he also worked with Uber India’s early team to navigate the regulatory challenges and build partnerships.

He has received several awards for his contribution in the field of public transport and social work, as well as has been widely quoted in publications. He completed his Master of Management and Innovation (MMIE) at Queen’s University, Canada and received his master’s in business administration specialized in International Business.

He is actively working with startups in mobility and logistics space as an advisor, mentor, and investor. Jaspal is an avid traveller and travelled to around 55 countries around the world and counting.

Hashem Alhendawi is the Head of UITP MENA, leading the Association’s operations from Dubai and overseeing its work across the Middle East and North Africa. With over 15 years of experience in strategy, business development, and regional partnerships, he plays a central role in advancing UITP’s mission to foster sustainable and innovative urban mobility in the region. 

Known for his collaborative leadership and forward-thinking approach, Hashem works closely with transport authorities, operators, and industry partners to strengthen policy dialogue and knowledge exchange across the sector. Before taking on his current role, he was actively engaged with UITP through the MENA Bus Platform and the Bus Electrification Sub-Working Group, contributing to the region’s transition toward cleaner and more efficient transport systems. 

Based in Dubai for more than 13 years, Hashem brings a deep understanding of the region’s evolving mobility landscape and a personal commitment to empowering people and partnerships that move cities forward. 

As Senior Manager, UITP (International Association of Public Transport) MENA office Dure is responsible for training, event management, marketing and communications. She been working in the  for Nineteen years with major MNCs, media, government organizations, Non-Profits and Associations. Specializing in sponsorship management, digital marketing and logistics. Dure’s list of achievements include managing events and exhibitions having 2000+ attendees such as MENA Fitness congress and MENA Transport Congress & Exhibition.

Dure holds a Master’s in Business Management degree with a major in marketing.