The announcement follows a difficult spell for the royal family after both Charles and his daughter-in-law Catherine, revealed that they had cancer
“The RTA continuously looks at enhancing its bus services whilst considering various factors, which include on time performance (ensuring timely arrival of buses at various bus stops) and optimizing the efficiency of the bus network and reducing operational cost,” an RTA spokesperson said.
“To achieve this we are studying and reviewing our bus network as well as selected roads located at high population density areas and congested spots in Dubai,” the RTA official added.
“Currently we have dedicated ‘bus and taxi lanes' across Dubai in areas of Khalid Bin Al Waleed, Naif, Al Khaleej, Mankhool and Al Mamzar while our ‘Intercity Bus Service network is operated through major highways which include Sheikh Zayed Road, Emirates Road, Ittihad Road and Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road.
"By 2019, we plan to construct 32 kms of bus lanes in Al Mankhool, Al Rashid, Amman Street, and Khalid Bin Al Waleed," the RTA official revealed.
The plan is similar to the bus rapid transit (BRT) or transit-way in other major urban centers that is designed to improve capacity and reliability relative to a conventional bus route system.
Residents who drive to work welcomed the plan. Dubai resident Andrei Avila, who has been working as a logistics manager in Jebel Ali for 10 years, said he “will definitely ditch his car and take the bus if it will take him straight from his house in Satwa to his work in Jebel Ali.”
“As of now, the only public transport option involves me taking at least three buses and two metro rides to my work. First, from my home, I need to take a feeder bus to Jafiliya Metro station, then I take the Metro up to the JLT station. Because of the ongoing construction, I need to take another free bus to Ibn Batuta station then another Metro ride to UAE Exchange and afterwards, another feeder bus to my work place,” Avila explained.
“Buses compete with other cars during peak hours so they are also stuck in heavy traffic but if there will be dedicated bus lanes, it will really encourage more people like me to take the bus because it will mean less time to commute and will also save us some petrol money,” Avila added.
Another Dubai resident, Filipino expat Chris Edralin, added: “Dedicated bus lanes would also mean fewer stops and that is a big attraction for people to take public transport.”
Dedicated bus lanes also mean improving road safety, according to Thomas Edelmann, founder and managing director of RoadSafetyUAE.
“It will mean smooth traffic and invite more people to take the public transport. The only disadvantage is that it will mean additional toll on road infrastructure as private motorists will lose one lane. Initially it will be a burden to private motorists but in the long run it will be beneficial for all," Edelamann.
“I believe the RTA is still discussing the plan and it could either be round-the-clock dedicated bus lane or implemented only during peak hours," Edelmann added.Bus transit system
Currently, TransJakarta is the longest BRT route in the world with approximately 230.9 km length connecting the Indonesian capital city. Here are some countries and cities with existing and planned BRTs:India
Philippines
Pakistan
Indonesia
China
USA
Under construction BRTS around the world
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Nigeria
angel@khaleejtimes.com
The announcement follows a difficult spell for the royal family after both Charles and his daughter-in-law Catherine, revealed that they had cancer
It reiterated that pilgrims require a Haj visa and it can be obtained through recognised official channels
The 18-year-old was taken to hospital in a serious condition
The brothers, who say they are innocent, are accused of having formed an organised criminal network in early 2021 in Romania, as well as in the US and Britain
The left-handed batter scored 3369 runs in 136 one-day internationals and 2893 in 140 Twenty20 internationals — both Pakistan records
Food supplies were distributed to 80 households
On January 31, a heart was airlifted from Delhi to Chennai, paving the way for Ayesha Rashid's life-saving surgery
The online retailer, which is headquartered in Singapore, has said it has around 108 million monthly active users in the 27-nation EU