More vehicles cause traffic jam

The Roads and Traffic Authority has said that one of the reasons for the recent traffic congestion is the increase in the numbers of vehicles on the roads.

By Ahmed Al Majaida

Published: Sat 20 Oct 2012, 9:32 AM

Last updated: Tue 7 Apr 2015, 2:32 PM

Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of the Licensing Department of RTA, said there are over 1.07 million vehicles registered in Dubai

“The main cause of the traffic jam could be the increase in the number of vehicles; around 20,000 vehicles have been newly registered in Dubai this year. We cannot suggest that this number is from Dubai only, because many people living in Dubai have their cars registered in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah or Ajman. But the number, for sure, is more,” he said.

Bahrozyan mentioned that the authority cannot suggest a reduction in the number of cars registered in Dubai, as each person has the right to own any number of cars. “We cannot force citizens and residents to own only one car or two, it’s their business to buy as many as they want. Other countries around the world might ask citizens to own a single vehicle because they’ve got an excellent infrastructure and public transport,” he said.

Dubai is in the process of developing other reliable means of transportation. “Maybe when the time comes, we will change certain rules regarding car ownership,” he added.

Registering a car in Dubai is also cheap, he said. “You can register a car here with only Dh500, and that is considered very cheap and will encourage people to register more than one vehicle.”

Bahrozyan added that 80 per cent of the registered vehicles are over five years old. Reducing the number of cars by not re-registering the old ones is also not an option, he added. “We don’t care if the vehicle is 100 years old as long as it passes our reliablity inspection test.”

“We, at the RTA, often urge people to use alternative means of transportation,” he said.

Abdelrahman Ismail, a 23-year-old Jordanian agrees that the reason for traffic congestion is the increase in the number of vehicles. Some families have more than one car, he said and advocated car pooling to reduce stress on the roads.

“We should be aware that the number of people is always on the rise, and the number of cars driven will rise, as well. I would encourage group transportation.”

Fahid Al Marzougi, a 23-year-old Emirati, also felt more cars per family is the reason for the increased traffic on the roads. “People own a couple of good plate numbers and want to display them. So they purchase more cars. I know of friends who have four to six cars.

But Saeed Al Muhairi, 22, an Emirati, said more cars coming to Dubai from other Emirates is the main reason for the jams. “I believe that the Sharjah-Dubai traffic will never be solved unless Sharjah moves to create more businesses and job opportunities. Or, they could try and force people living in Sharjah to use public transport,” he said.

ahmedjamal@khaleejtimes.com