New statistics released by the Directorate-General of Traffic, Royal Oman Police, show that the number of new vehicles registered for the first time from January to May this year has increased by 42.4 per cent compared to the figures of the corresponding period in 2011. As many as 58,070 vehicles of all kinds were registered as against 40,781 vehicles by the end of May last year.

The increase in registered vehicles added RO 1.85 billion to bill of the Sultanate’s 2011 imports which stood at RO 9 billion. Last year witnessed the registration of 112,000 new vehicles. The number of vehicles registered for government departments from January to May this year increased by 100 per cent to 1,683 compared to 840 during the corresponding period in 2011. The number of private vehicles increased by 53 per cent to 44,353 vehicles during the first five months this year as against the corresponding period last year.

Commercial vehicles’ numbers also increased by 4.7 per cent during the first five months this year to 8,747, with those registered as taxis increasing by 15 per cent to 743 from January to the end of May this year, while driving school vehicles’ number declined by 30 per cent to 65, compared to the first five months last year. Experts say the unprecedented traffic snarls and chaotic traffic movement at various parts of the country, with special focus on the capital city, is the by-product of the disproportionate growth in the number of vehicles.

Invariably the increased sales of both new and pre-owned cars, increased purchasing power of the youth triggered by minimum salary stipulation and additional jobs generated both in the private and public sectors have collectively contributed to the sudden rise in the number of vehicles on road, according to a chief executive of an automobiles company. “The volume of our auto finance or in other words the instalment credit has jumped by 20 to 25 per cent in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year,” he said.