Half a million dirhams to be raised as Dubai goes car-free

Dubai - The initiative saw the participation of 2,500 entities

To mark the Year of Giving, Dubai Municipality had announced that it would donate a sum of money corresponding to the number of participants in the Car Free Day initiative.
Accordingly, it is expected to raise over Dh500,000 after tens of thousands of residents ditched their car on Sunday, said a top official.
Dubai residents ditch their cars on Car-Free Day
On the eighth Car Free Day initiative, which encouraged employees of government and private entities to swap their cars for different modes of public transport to get to work for a day, Hussain Lootah, director-general of Dubai Municipality, had announced the civic body will donate the money corresponding to the number of participants.
He said the initiative saw the participation of 2,500 entities, which is double last year's participation that saw 1,070 organisations ditching 43,000 vehicles.
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Reaching out to at least 250,000 employees, Mohammed Mubarak Al Mutaiwei, assistant director-general for communication and community, said over Dh500,000 is expected to be raised and will be donated to planting trees and charity organisations. "It will go beyond Dh500,000 for sure. It is calculated," noted Al Mutaiwei.
He added that at least 50,000 vehicles were abandoned on Sunday assuming that at least 20 per cent of the 250,000 employees participated in the initiative
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Lootah told Khaleej Times that connecting Car Free Day to the Year of Giving was to give a physical example of the difference members of the society can make to their surroundings.
"When we transform ditching vehicles into an amount of money that will help in planting trees to protect the environment and contribute to charity organisations, we are sending the message that any contribution has a positive return on the environment and other people," said Lootah.
He added that donations will be calculated depending on the number of people who left their cars at home. "We will measure the value of each person's contribution to protecting the environment. The total number of participants will be multiplied by the value to be translated into planting trees and donating to charity," he noted.
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Lootah said the initiative has helped change attitudes over the past years towards public transport and its role in reducing pollution caused by vehicles. He noted that the municipality's aim is to motivate other entities to arrange their own car free day, and make public transport a habit among the young generation.
"While we live in a region where everyone loves owning a car, we want to show people that there are other options available and that they can use their cars more efficiently and when needed," said Lootah.
He noted that around 100 municipality employees currently use public transport as the civic body provides them with free NoL cards.
The first Car Free Day in 2010 saw only two organisations ditching 1,000 cars. Lootah said the fact that the number has been growing means more people are aware of the initiative's importance in helping reduce pollution.
On Sunday, Lootah led a team of officials of government departments in riding the Metro from the Etisalat Station to the Union Station.
The officials then joined a huge exhibition area set up near the Dubai Municipality Deira branch to celebrate the day through different activities.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com