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Free Bus Rides Extended Till February-end in Capital

The fares will be announced by the end of January 2009 and implemented from March 1, 2009, said Saeed Mohammed Al Hameli, General Manager, Bus Office, Department of Transport (DoT).

According to DoT, 700 buses will be added to the current fleet, of which 125 will be pressed into service immediately. By the end of 2010, DoT is expected to have over 1,300 buses. The new routes will cover Khalifa City, Shawamikh, Shahama, Bani Yas, Mussafah, Al Ain and the Al Gharbia region.

“Of late, we are improving the roads in Abu Dhabi and in Al Ain for our planned extension of the new routes to avoid traffic congestion,” Al Hameli said.

Feedback

“DoT is also carrying out a survey for launching a 24-hour service if it gets an overwhelming feedback from the commuters. As of now, around 50,000 people commute by public buses everyday, but we are looking for 70,000-80,000 commuters everyday,” he said.

“It is noteworthy that this announcement comes at the same time of the addition of two new major routes (34 and 54) to the network last week by DoT, taking the total number of routes to nine,” he said.

“The new lot of 700 buses from Germany will be environmentally-friendly,” Al Hameli said.

“The Abu Dhabi government is studying all aspects of ferry and rail services and other modes of transport, which are expected to be unveiled in March 2009. On the basis of that master plan and urban planning designs, the developmental measures will be implemented.”

anwar@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE