 Dusk colors the Jafaliya station and Sheikh Zayed Rd. skyline. |
Card Abuse & Other Minor Infractions
I saw and experienced it for the first time a few days ago--the use of a handheld device used to inspect nol cards, which one is asked to display upon entering the gold class cabin. The Gulf Arab gentlemen seated in front of me politely protested being treated suspiciously, but I suggested to him that it was a useful procedure as people are known to have abused the system.
That said, in the span of a few minutes our cards were inspected by two different cabin crew attendants. For the most part, however, the procedure appears to be to inspect cards as riders enter at the various stations, rather than waiting until they have already taken their seats.
Another monitoring incident... A young man waiting to board was getting a chiding from one of the security guards. When I asked him what had happened he said it was because he was having a drink. He didn't know that drinking was not allowed on the platform--neither did I. So the restriction does not apply only on the trains but on the platforms as well, and I would now presume you'll be warned if you have an open drink or food anywhere once passing through the wickets.
That does not bode well for the concessions at stations. These include Star Bucks, a fruit juice outlet and Chow King (an oriental fast food shop)--those are the ones I've seen so far at the stations I regularly pass through. The Chow King is located at a street side entrance/exit of the Financial Centre station, so one might well pick up a takeout order on leaving the station. The other outets, however, just outside the entrance wickets, seem not to make much sense. They don't have seating, so one would basically have to walk with one's purchase while exiting the station or else gulp it down before heading toward the boarding platform.
I can't say I remember ever seeing a commuter train where passengers could eat on board the trains themselves, but it was certainly allowed on platforms and elsewhere within the stations. In Japan, where I lived for many years, stations had quick order shops with seating or stand-up bars, and the favorite of many passengers was to have a quick bowl of hot tasty ramen (noodle soup) either before or just after their train ride. It was really one of the unique appeals of the stations. I think I would skip dinner at home every evening if I could get a bowl of hot ramen at the end of my evening commute.
The emphasis in Dubai's new stations is clearly on cleanliness and I wouldn't fault anyone for that. I really appreciate the shiny newness of everything. No doubt, if eating were allowed you would get paper trash and sticky or grimy surfaces here and there. But the least they could do is have stools or small seating areas at the concessions outside of the wicket gates. A 16 dhs cup of coffee from Star Bucks just doesn't make sense if you can't at least sit down and leisurely sip it.
Alternative Transport
A recent Gulf News article reports the following:
Approximately 21 per cent of all road fatalities in the first three months of this year have been caused by accidents involving minibuses...
It continues with a police recommendation that mini-buses no longer be permitted to transport passengers. Is that a ploy to get more riders onto the metro? Maybe, but it seems to be a genuinely good move in terms of safety.
There isn't anything inherently more dangerous with minibuses than with other vehicles--apart from comparisons based on size. Of course, a sub-compact car is more vulnerable than a giant bus. The point is that most accidents result from the actions of drivers rather than the type of vehicle.
In this view, the suggestion that mini-buses be no longer permitted to ferry passengers is perhaps more an indictment on the people who drive these vehicles. Such drivers are often poorly trained and seem to have no particular appreciation of the value of their cargo, as it were. The comfort and safety of human passengers ought to command a bit more respect than the transport of goods.
So, here perhaps we take care of two birds with one stone, by getting the recklessly driven mini-buses off the roads and ushering more commuters onto the metro.
Nol Woes Continued...
This time the angst is not mine but that of others I know. The balance of credit on their cards seem invariably to shrink unexplained. The quick assumption is I've been cheated or that the card or card readers are malfunctioning. As I have learned, however, the real culprit is normally incorrect use of the card or misunderstanding the info given by the card readers.
I don't fault the riders, however, for this confusion. There is a learning curve involved and the RTA has not adequately addressed this. For most people it is going to be trial by fire--the fire being that which seems to burn their cash away. The best rule of thumb is to just be cool and calm about it and assume there is a rational explanation behind every error. At the same time, one can get a print out of his/her card usage history (available at the ticket machines and info counters in metro stations, and perhaps elsewhere).
Taxis
I have to add these to my compendium of transport options. It used to be that in Abu Dhabi, where I lived for 9 years, taxiing was the only practical transport option for those who did not own cars--and part of the reason why that city is plagued today with even worse vehicle traffic and parking woes than Dubai.
A public bus transport system was only introduced in Abu Dhabi in 2008. To be fair there was a precursor of sorts, a fleet of big buses that traveled inner and inter-city routes. But the buses, their routes and boarding spots were largely unmarked. Usage remained confined to the extremely humble of means--i.e. the unemployed few, it would seem--who had no option but to work out the mysterious system. Even laborers on meagre salaries found no use for them and instead relied on an informal system of taxi sharing.
Back to Dubai, taxis have always been part of a mix that included buses as well as informal car shares, but the price, several times that in Abu Dhabi, had made them a sort of last resort option. (I've seen some commentators speak of Dubai's reasonable taxi fares, but I have to wonder from which planet they hail--OK, maybe Tokyo or New York, but why compare Dubai with the most expensive of cities?) With the metro partially opened and lots of new buses, commuters in Dubai finally have real options, but will still need to rely on taxis from time to time.
Metro Info via The National
There are a number of websites around which attempt to fill the sometimes dearth of information about the metro, its facilities, services, etc. I have just come across Abu Dhabi's English daily The National's contribution which seems quite promising.
This seems to be a space worth watching.
