By Rayeesa Absal, Staff Reporter www.gulfnews.com
Dubai Fourteen winners selected from among 93 submissions were yesterday bestowed the fourth Dubai Award for Sustainable Transport (Dast) 2011 by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of the Executive Council.
The award, instituted by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), aims to motivate public and private sector participation in efforts to reduce traffic congestion and thereby conserve the environment.
Shaikh Hamdan, flanked by Mattar Al Tayer, chairman of the board and executive director of the RTA, honoured winners in various categories.
A short video about Dast and Dubai’s efforts to conserve the environment was also screened at the awards ceremony, held at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Al Tayer said that the awards had attracted a record number of entries, with the 93 submissions a strong indication of the growing rapport between the public and private sectors for the cause and their keenness to contribute positively in the interest of the community and environment. He also noted that the quality of entries had improved tremendously in a short span of four years.
“The efforts of the Dubai Government, represented by the RTA, in improving the infrastructure of the transport sector have proved successful and effective. The public transport means in Dubai are becoming vital for the daily movement of residents and visitors. The number of public transport users in 2011 has surpassed 346.5 million persons, and the daily ridership of mass transit systems clocked 963 thousands persons last year,” Al Tayer said.
Speaking after accepting the award, Ahmad Mohi Al Deen, deputy general manager of operations of ETA Ascon, said that the company’s efforts in sustainability had helped it save Dh16 million annually. “The project we designed helped us cut down the use of 450 vehicles out of our fleet of 2,200 vehicles and also 1 million kilometres of road exposure.” More info
