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UAE: Parents surprised by low traffic on first day of school
The typically busy roads remained relatively clear, even as students returned from their two-month summer break
- PUBLISHED: Mon 25 Aug 2025, 5:57 PM
Traffic on Monday morning was unexpectedly light across Dubai and Sharjah, as many parents chose to drive their children to school for the first day of the new academic term.
Despite expectations of significant congestion, most motorists reported reaching their offices on time or experiencing only minor delays of 10 to 15 minutes. The typically busy roads remained relatively clear, even as students returned from their two-month summer break.
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Several parents expressed surprise at how smooth the commute was. A combination of quick action by authorities and staggered school reopening dates is believed to have helped ease traffic flow.
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“We were worried that traffic outside the school and on the way to work would be much heavier than usual, but it’s commendable how well Dubai Police managed everything on the first day of new term. At our child’s school in Al Twar, a police car was stationed outside and another was patrolling the area to ensure smooth flow of traffic,” said parent Pallavi Chandra.
“The drive to work was again smooth, and I reached at the same time as during the summer holidays. It clearly showed the thoughtful planning by the government and how efficiently it was executed. It was a relief for both parents and students, and the overall experience was very positive. Even the weather made it feel just right,” she added.
Dubai Police deployed 750 senior officers and personnel to manage back-to-school traffic. Officers were stationed at various schools and across key areas in the city to assist students and maintain smooth traffic movement.
“I was very surprised when I found my usually 20 minute trip to my children’s school in Jumeirah taking a little less than that,” said parent Saima A.
“I was expecting a lot of traffic. However, I know that ours was the only school in that area to have children back today. Most of the other schools are starting tomorrow or later this week. So I think, for the rest of the week, we will have some heavy traffic before everything settles in again.”
Mohammed, a parent at Cambridge International School, also found the commute smooth, although the congestion around the school itself was busy.
“The lines in front of the school was considerably longer than usual,” he said.
“There were a lot of new parents. Some students who usually take the bus were also dropped off because it was the first day back to school. However, the staff managed the traffic quite adeptly and I was able to drop the kids and leave in just ten minutes,” said Mohammed.
Adnan Wahidi, a Dubai resident, however, predicts an uptick in the future.
“I see a heavy traffic from next week onwards when all residents are back in the country,” he said.
Sharjah-Dubai bottleneck
To avoid the typical Sharjah-to-Dubai bottleneck, some parents started their day early, while others relied on navigation apps like Google Maps and Waze to reach their destinations efficiently.
Abdul Hamid, a Sharjah resident, followed his children’s school’s request for parents to drop off students on the first day.
“I started the day much earlier at around 6am to ensure that we reach school by 7.15am. Surprisingly, we reached much each of school opening time because the traffic flow slow, but smooth. There was no traffic jams. Usually, traffic jam begins any time after 6am from Sharjah to Dubai,” said Hamid, who dropped his two children to school in Dubai.
Ali Ahmed, a sales executive in Sharjah, used real-time traffic tools to plan his journey.
“Since I start my journey around 8am, there is a heavy towards Dubai at that time. Therefore, I regularly checked Google Maps and Waze to monitor traffic jams. With the help of these navigations apps, I reached my office in time,” he said.
