As a modern metro and a Global City, Dubai constantly strives to make itself a user friendly space; a place where residents find mobility easy and effortless. Some of the developments in the urban mobility space in Dubai may surprise you.
The RTA buses are a reliable and comfortable way to move around Dubai. In the last 12 years or so, the RTA has more than doubled its fleet. Where earlier there were 620 buses, now there are 1520 buses.
According to a recent announcement, 11 new bus routes are to be added and 13 existing ones are to be improved. To improve metro connectivity, 10 metro feeder services are also introduced.
About 86 km of new metro and tram lines have been laid. An addition of 47 new metro stations and 11 new tram stations will serve to further enhance the existing infrastructure. In just about 7 years, it became possible to break even on the costs of the metro operation. In other words, people have found that the metro system is useful, convenient and cost-effective enough to use it in large numbers.
Dubai was served by traditional dhows or abras in the past. Now, however, other methods of marine transport have been added: investments in water bus, water taxi and ferries have helped create new options for mobility in and around Dubai.
The idea is to increase the proportion of shared mobility to 26% by 2030 to tackle problems such as overcrowding of roads and pollution. The launching of 13 ‘Future Councils’ is meant to bring public and private entities together to improve transport infrastructure.
In 2017, the authorities had tested out the option of self-driven (autonomous) aerial vehicles and are working at bringing this into the public sphere shortly. The goal is to create seven modes of autonomous transport by 2030. Other futuristic means of transport such as the Dubai skypods (a suspended rain system) are also being tested in order that they may be offered to the public soon.
Improving last mile solutions such as on demand buses and scooter systems will also make more people turn to public transport. The authorities also plan to improve and refine urban mobility by increasing reliance on hybrid and electric vehicles. 200 electric Tesla taxis are currently a part of the fleet; however the authorities are looking to add more electric buses, hybrid vehicles and taxis to the system.
Do you have something interesting you would like to share? Write to us at [email protected]
