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Discount to make more students opt for metro, buses

The new initiative by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai to discount public transport for students by 50 per cent will encourage more students to travel on the buses and metro, according to university officials.

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Students at universities in Dubai Knowledge Village are connected to the public transport via the feeder bus network. Also, a shuttle service by university buses connects students to the nearest metro station every 10 minutes.

“Travelling by the metro is quite popular among students. Most of us use the metro to get to the university because it saves time and we don’t need to wake up early in the morning. We can come whenever the classes are scheduled during the day,” said Jackie Jagger, who travels from Sharjah to Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV) everyday.

University of Wollongong in Dubai (UoWD) launched a shuttle bus service for its students running every 30 minutes, between the nearest metro station and its campus in DKV, in 2010, becoming the first university to do so.

The number of students using the bus service to get to the metro station gained popularity prompting the university to increase the frequency to every 10 minutes. By the end of 2010, the number of students and staff using the shuttle service had risen to 6,366.

“This demonstrated the success of our campaign which was designed to boost the culture of public transport among staff and students, thus minimising the use of private vehicles, alleviating parking congestion at the university and reducing carbon emissions,” said Prof Rob Whelan.

The UoWD was among the recipients of the RTA’s 3^rd annual “Dubai Awards for Sustainable Transport” (DAST) in recognition of its efforts in encouraging use of public transport among the student community.

news@khaleejtimes.com