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Free bus service by Dubai malls
DUBAI - Free shuttle bus services launched by some of the shopping malls in Dubai will help reduce the frustrating and long wait for taxis by shoppers.
While Deira City Centre’s free shuttle service, City Express, is expected to expand soon, the Ibn Battuta Mall started a similar service earlier this month for the benefit of the tourists and shoppers.
Faud Al Najjar, Vice- President of Deira City Centre, told Khaleej Times that there are plans to include more destinations in the City Express network.
“We had started this service a year ago with the intention of helping our shoppers. At present, there are six buses that leave the City Centre after every 30 minutes to locations like Clock Tower, Taj Palace Hotel, Rigga Road, Lotus Hotel, Emirates Towers, Bank Street (Bur Dubai and Karama) and Nasr Square.”
“Shoppers can board these buses for free. The service starts at 3.30pm and continues until midnight. Also, if there are people waiting at the dropoff points intending to go to the City Centre, these buses will carry them to the mall for free. The service has been very successful with over 50,000 people using it every month,” he said.
Deira City Centre is among the busiest malls in Dubai with over 370 stores attracting over 22 million visitors each year. Rubin Gates, a frequent visitor to Deira City Centre says the shuttle service has been very good for shoppers.
“This service saves us the trouble of waiting for taxis for hours. On Fridays, the taxi queue is huge and it is very frustrating. I have used this service earlier; it’s fast,” he said.
“One needs to wait for the bus, too, but the wait for the cabs is too long at the City Centre. Many a time, particularly on weekends, you have to stand in the queue for more than an hour. The bus service is always better. They should now start a bus service for Sharjah, too, which will be of great help to many,” said Manasi Singh, a shopper.
The recently launched bus service of the Ibn Battuta Mall currently targets the city’s hotels by offering complimentary transport to visitors.
“We are initially targeting the tourists by offering a bus service between the city’s 5-star hotels, including Grosvenor House Hotel, Habtoor Grand, Le Meridien Mina Siyahi, Shangri-La, Sheraton, Westin and Emirates Green Lakes. The bus covers three hotels at a time,” said Marketing Manager Marc Jones.
“We will extend the service to central Dubai in the next few months,” he added. Hind Mahmoud, tourism executive at Ibn Battuta Mall, said the bus picks up the guests from the hotel and drops them back. “It is a two-and-fro service. Right now we have got just one bus, but there are plans to increase the number.
The pickup from the hotels is provided many times during the day, so the guest has the flexibility to be picked up at different times,” he said.
joy@khaleejtimes.com
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