DUBAI // The numbers of people using public transport have grown in the emirate with the tram registering the highest number of passengers in the first quarter of this year.
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) confirmed that the Dubai Metro comprising the Red and Green Lines had ferried 51.371 million riders during the first quarter of this year compared with 49.9 million passengers in the same period last year, recording a three per cent increase.
Some 1,601,076 riders climbed aboard the tram compared to 1,338,601 in the first quarter of 2015 registering a growth of about 20 per cent.
The RTA was committed to achieve the highest rating of happiness among community members by deploying safe, secure and robust transport fitted with the highest industry technology, said Mohammed Al Mudharreb, director of rail operation at the RTA.
“The number of riders using public transport, especially the metro, has seen a huge growth rate, thanks to the culture of using public transport amongst community members,” said Mr Al Mudharreb adding that the aim was to offer smooth mobility via public transport to various destinations in the emirate to all passengers.
Public buses had transported 38,616,365 riders during the first three months of this year compared with 37,654,468 riders during the same period last year, reflecting a growth of 2.5 per cent.
“The RTA is working to complement the public transport network in the emirate to reduce the use of private vehicles and to make mass transit the ideal mobility choice in Dubai,” said Basel Saad Ibrahim, RTA’s director of buses.
“The share of public transport has grown from 6 per cent in 2006 to 15 per cent in 2015 and reached 24 per cent in 2016 with the taxicab share,” he said.
newsdesk@thenational.ae
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
MORE FROM CON COUGHLIN
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh132,000 (Countryman)
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.
