With the building of the road network, it became possible to expand the public transport services. In 1979, the Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) was established. From small beginnings, SAPTCO has grown into a national bus service, providing cheap public transport within and between major population centers. SAPTCO’s services continue to expand as it increases the size of its fleet and upgrades the quality of its vehicles. Each year, SAPTCO faces and meets a particular challenge when pilgrims arrive from all over the Kingdom and from all over the world to perform the annual pilgrimage to the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah. SAPTCO assigns about 2,000 buses every season for services in the Holy Cities. It also operates regular international passenger services between the Kingdom and Egypt, Jordan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Turkey.