Baghdad's vehicle count tops 7 million nationwide, reviving public transit debate

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's vehicle fleet has surpassed seven million, with more than four million of those vehicles concentrated in Baghdad, a figure that has reignited debate over the country's underdeveloped public transportation system. Daily gasoline consumption nationwide now exceeds 30 million liters, and officials estimate that fuel waste alone costs the economy more than 500 billion dinar annually. Once known in the 1950s for its orderly double-decker British buses, Baghdad fell behind its own transit infrastructure after 2003 as car imports accelerated without matching road and public transport expansion. Experts cited in Iraqi media say the resulting congestion costs one million workers more than 250 million hours of lost productivity each year, while also driving up air and noise pollution and traffic accidents. Specialists argue that new bridges and road widening alone will not resolve the crisis, calling instead for modern bus fleets, an eventual Baghdad metro and electric public transport projects. They point to bus rapid transit systems in London, Singapore, Istanbul and Curitiba, Brazil, and recommend dedicated bus lanes, a national public transport authority and coordinated service routes between institutions. According to those estimates, such measures could generate returns through fuel savings, fewer accidents and improved workforce productivity, while restoring elements of Baghdad's older planned transit identity. No timeline or funding commitments for the proposed projects were immediately available.