Meeting the city's public transport needs. >>"We are planning to have 90 per cent of Dubai's urban and suburban areas covered with public buses by 2010 with more than 2,000 buses," said Al Dossari.
He said the maximum distance to get to the public transport would be 250 metres from a passenger's doorstep once the system is fully operational by the end of next month.
Gulf News_17-Sep-09
Fanciful? I came to the UAE 9 years ago and at that time could count the number of bus routes on two hands.
Now there are dozens and the investment in buses seems to already be in the thousands.
During 2010 both of the metro lines should be fully operational and already it is apparent that feeder buses along the existing line have already made the 250 meters goal a reality in some areas.
I can't imagine anywhere else where the commitment to public transport has improved so dramatically within so short a time.
Union Station historical museum style interiors (above & below). |
 A reflective take on the city >>All alone is how I start my train ride today, at the usual time--about 9 a.m. Not a single other soul in my carriage nor in the women's and gold class sections nearby. It's not really a good sign. Anecdotally, morning usage seems to have grown lighter as the week has progressed. Still, it's early days yet. It is another bright, clear morning, with the city quickly coming into focus. My train arrived at the Airport Terminal 3 station where I saw a couple of pax toting big bags on wheels heading into the terminal. I'm not absolutely sure that they had disembarked from the metro, but it would appear so and it would also seem that heavy bags are allowed on the metro, within reason. I would qualify this by explaining that many workers, especially laborers in the UAE, usually head back to their home contries on vacation or final return with huge parcels--containing the maximum weight allowed. This was formerly 50 kg--a massive amount when packed into a single carton, but I believe that the limit has been reduced in recent years. In any event, these travelers still carry quite a bit with them, so I'm doubtful that this would fall into the metro carry-on allowance. The train has picked up a few more pax in the underground stations, but there are still seats available. With that it's time to attempt to log in and upload before I reach my final stop. |
Quote of the Day
"And now our challenge is how to really persuade the UAE people to travel on this train. They will take time but this is there.
"Foreigners will travel on it, I will travel, but it will take time to make UAE citizens travel on the train."
Sheikh Mohammad, ruler of Dubai
Will they be convinced to ride the buses, too?
HI, actually, yesterday i ws next to JLT station around 11pm, and i was pretty amazed to see the dubai metro with wuiet few people. i was on the phone with my friends and we laughed about it as we were sure, they were trying it... i mean what were they doing at this time. well, im thinking of trying it as well. i have been in the UAE since 1998 and a lot of things has been happening in dubai since then.
ReplyDeleteTry it. You might get hooked--like me!
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