DUBAI // Public transport in the emirate last year was used more than half a billion times – up considerably from the number of journeys made the previous year.
Last year, 531,350 million rides were made on the metro, tram, buses, taxis and via marine services, said the Roads and Transport Authority – an average of 1,475 million journeys a day. There were 531,000 journeys made on Dubai Tram alone in the two months since its launch.
In 2013, 440,672 million journeys were made, with more than 367 million made the year before. This averaged out to 1.3 million and roughly 1 million journeys a day respectively.
Public transport in the emirate has become an integral part of people’s lives, with regards to mobility, said Mattar Al Tayer, RTA’s executive director.
“The public transport network in Dubai, which is almost complete in terms of modes with the launch of the Dubai Tram on November 11, has become a key element in the mobility of people in various parts of the Emirate of Dubai.”
Last year’s figures show that public transport accounted for 14 per cent of the number of journeys made, compared with 6 per cent in 2006. By 2020, RTA hopes public transport will make up 20 per cent of all journeys made.
“Moreover, the RTA has managed to transform the culture of various segments of the community and their attitudes towards using public transport,” Mr Al Tayer said. “People have started to grasp and feel the benefits associated with the use of mass transit, such as the physical comfort, peace of mind, financial saving, high safety, and lower expenses of car usage in terms of fuel and maintenance, among others.”
To make public transport the most popular method of travelling, said Mr Al Tayer, RTA has several plans in place to upgrade infrastructure. These include extending the Metro’s Red Line, upgrading roads and junctions that lead towards the Expo 2020 site, and expanding the number of bus routes to eventually cover 16 new areas.
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