Dubai: The Roads and Transport Authority has stepped up its road safety campaign for schoolchildren with 771 fines issued against non-compliant schools and transport operators in the first three months of this year.

Image Credit: Gulf News archives Pupils get on a school bus on Oud Metha Road. Al Dossary said there had been a ‘revolution’ in school transport since the RTA took it over in 2008.

“The number is almost half of the total number of fines issued in the whole of 2011, which reflects increased monitoring,” said Eisa Al Dossary, Chief Executive Officer of the RTA’s Public Transport Agency, which regulates school transport.

On the contrary, the increase in fines could also reflect increased negligence on the part of school bus drivers or transport operators. However, Al Dossary does not see it that way.

“Last year, our inspectors issued 1,580 fines and this year in the first quarter alone we have half of it. What this indicates is that we are increasing our surveillance. Most of these fines are for non-compliance with safety standards and specifications, which range from not using the stop arm while dropping or loading students to exceeding the speed limit which is fixed at 80km/h,” Al Dossary said.

Highlighting the “revolution” seen in school transport since the RTA took it over in 2008, he said that the number of accidents had decreased by 63 per cent, and the number of casualties and abuse cases on school buses has also come down. More info

DUBAI // Police have introduced a batch of electrical vehicles they say will help them to patrol narrow and crowded areas not easily reached by cars.

The new vehicles do not produce carbon dioxide and are larger than a golf buggy but smaller than a police car.

They will also be used to carry employees and visitors at police headquarters.

Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim, the chief of Dubai Police, launched the first batch today.

“We at Dubai Police continuously seek a safe and clean, sustainable and attractive environment,” Gen Tamim said.

He said that the vehicles would help to reduce emissions and noise, and would improve levels of “occupational health and safety”. More info

Dubai: The city’s finest road is also the one which has the highest number of speeding fines.

Image Credit: Gulf News Archive Shaikh Zayed Road. Last year, motorists racked up 714,894 fines for exceeding speed limits on Shaikh Zayed Road. That's nearly 2,000 tickets a day or 81 an hour.

Last year, motorists racked up 714,894 fines for exceeding speed limits on Shaikh Zayed Road. That’s nearly 2,000 tickets a day or 81 an hour.

Obviously, they haven’t learnt anything. In the first three months of 2012, the heavy footed incurables have run up 210,128 tickets on this freeway – a 27 per cent jump from 165,074 between January and March last year.

Among the speed kings is Indian actor Kamaal Rashid Khan who clocked Dh7,000 in speeding fines on Valentine’s Day night. But it’s still nothing compared to this man whose car was impounded after he racked up Dh127,000 in fines.

Al Khail Road came a distant second with 113,068 fines last year. Curiously, Emirates Road, which was responsible for the highest number of deaths (14) in 2011, recorded 100,467 speeding tickets.

Fourth on the list is Dubai Al Ain Road (98,531) followed by the Dubai Bypass Road (89,943).  More info

Dubai: The quality and standard of school transport in Dubai has seen a dramatic change since 2008, when the Dubai Executive Council issued a law to control school transport.

Since then the Roads and Transport Authority has issued detailed regulations, guidelines and specifications for buses. It has also provided training to school bus drivers and attendants, and only those who are certified by the authority can drive school buses.

“What has happened since 2008 is a big revolution. There was no law to govern school transport before, nobody was accountable and no responsibilities were assigned. There is a huge difference between what you see now and before 2008,” said Eisa Al Dossary, CEO of RTA’s Public Transport Agency, which also governs school transport.

The basic objective of the changes was to improve safety of pupils on the road and to achieve this RTA has divided the roles and responsibilities with all parties are held accountable. “We have issued guidelines for school administrators, teachers, drivers, attendants as well as parents and students and we keep organising safety awareness campaigns in schools,” said Al Dossary. More info

Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced two new bus routes
–Route 83 and Route 85 — that will connect Tecom free zones Dubai Internet
City (DIC), Dubai Media City (DMC) and Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV) to Karama
and Discovery Gardens respectively.

Dubai buses

The buses operating on the new routes can cut down the commuting time for
office-goers within the free zones by almost 50 per cent. The timings of the two
bus routes take into account the peak hours.

Badr Al Gargawi, chief executive officer of engineering management, Tecom
Investments, said: “The introduction of two new bus routes not only complements
the public transport facilities in our free zones, but also eases the parking
challenges and traffic congestion.”

The service comes as an immediate outcome of a survey that RTA conducted in
collaboration with Tecom Investments in September-October 2011. From a sample
size of over 800 workers and students, more than half said ‘yes’ to this bus
service if provided.

Essa Abdulrahman Al Dosari, CEO of Public Transport Agency, said: “While
plotting the new routes, we have taken into consideration the existing public
transport facilities and the call for enhanced services from a particular area.
We also study the outcomes of our survey prior to assigning new public bus
routes.” More info

The Public Transport Agency – Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), has recently inaugurated 9 new internal bus routes within Dubai Emirate in addition to one inter-city service shuttling between Dubai and Abu Dhabi to boost the bus transit network and keep up with the rising demand for mass transit means in general and public buses in particular.

Eisa Abdul Rahman Al Dosari, CEO of RTA Public Transport Agency.

Eisa Abdul Rahman Al Dosari, CEO of RTA Public Transport Agency, said, “The new routes will start off trips from various stations within Dubai Emirate, and the tenth route will be kicked off Ibn Battuta Metro Station in Dubai and head towards Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station and vice versa.”

Al Dosari said, “These routes comprise Route # 29 starting off Al Ghubaiba Bus Station heading to the Mall of the Emirates; passing through several districts and metro stations which include Al Fuhaidi, Khalid bin Al Waleed (A1) and (B2), Karama (seaside) and Jafliah (seaside). Route # 55 starts off Satwa Bus Station and heads to the International City via several stops at Satwa Mosque (2), Satwa Post Office and others. Route # 83 starts off Al Guhbaiba Bus Station and runs up to Nakheel Metro Station while passes through several metro stations including Al Fuhaidi (1), Al Fuhaidi (2), subsidiary power station of the Dubai Internet City among others.”

“Route # 85: starts off the Dubai Internet City Metro Station and heads to the Discovery Gardens, covering many stops en route from (1) to (15) in addition to other areas including the BBC World News. Route # 91A starts off the Gold Souq Bus Station and heads to Jebel Ali Bus Station, passing through the Union Metro Station, Al Maktoum Road, Jebel Ali Free Zone, and Trade Center Intersection among others. Route # 96 starts off Al Quoz Bus Station and heads to the Dubai Investment Park, passing through Al Khaleej Times newspaper, and a number of points at Jebel Ali Industrial Area, and Galadari Printing and Publishing, among others. Route # 97 starts off Al Qusais Bus Station and heads to Jebel Ali Industrial Area; passing through a number of areas including Al Qusais workers accommodation as well as Algeria and Tunisia streets,” he added. More info

DUBAI // Researchers in Dubai are looking at ways to lure people out of their cars and on to public transport, after it was found that nine in 10 motorised trips are made in private vehicles.

Nine of 10 city trips in Dubai are made in private vehicles. Pawan Singh / The National

The figure is extremely high, exceeding the global average of 60 per cent, and even the Middle East average of 85 per cent.

The fundamental problem is that, despite the UAE’s transport infrastructure being regarded as a leader in the region, the car remains the most convenient way to get around.

“It gives you a sense of freedom of movement,” said Dr Arun Bajracharya, who conducted the study at the British University in Dubai.

“It gives you a sense of satisfaction and, if used again and again, it becomes attractive and people don’t want to use other forms of transportation.”

Roads were the priority when Dubai was first developing.

“Before the RTA [Roads and Transport Authority] took over, the main emphasis was expanding the road network,” Dr Bajracharya said.

“Settlement is sectored here and roads were sparse, so there was little chance of movement by walking or cycling otherwise.”

That problem has not gone away. The city’s communities are spread several kilometres apart and with only two metro lines, travelling on public transport takes time.

Cars are cheap in Dubai and the roads are world class, Dr Bajracharya said.

“The costs of maintenance, registration and fuel makes [cars] very affordable,” he said. “Because of these factors, people tend to use cars.”

And large parts of the city still lack decent public transport. Academic City on the Al Ain Road, where many of Dubai’s universities are based, is hard to reach without a car.

“Accessibility and availability isn’t there yet,” said Dr Bajracharya. “Public transport also takes longer than driving, even with traffic.”

Many students at Heriot-Watt University take the Metro to Rashidiya, from where a single bus travels to Academic City.

The bus journey takes an hour, passing through International City and Silicon Oasis.

“If there was a metro a lot of our students would use it,” said Chris Burgoyne, the university’s student president, adding he would use it instead of driving.

Afshan Pathan, an MBA student at Amity University, who lives in Karama, tried the Metro and bus route. It took an hour and a half – twice as long as the privately operated minibus she now uses.

“There was a lot of waiting time for the bus and then it was a very long journey,” Ms Pathan said.

Part of the answer could be dedicated bus lanes to let services run faster. A pilot scheme has set up lanes in Bur Dubai. More info

In implementation of the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has embarked on the construction of two cycling tracks at Seih Assalam and Al-Qudrah areas extending 45 kilometers, at a cost of about 19 million dirham.

The project is set to be a prominent sports landmark as Seih Assalam and Al-Qudrah areas are poised to shape into a rendezvous for cycling enthusiasts in Dubai Emirate. The tracks have been designed with much attention to the safety as well as the security of cyclists.

His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA, commented on the project saying: “The project started at the end of last February and takes about 120 days to complete, so it is scheduled for completion next June. It spans an area of 45 km at a total cost of around 19 million dirham. The first cycling track stretches 18 km and runs besides the northern part of Al Qudra Road. It starts off the first R/A following the bridge over the Dubai Bypass Road and extends up to the R/A on the intersection of Bab Al Shams Road and Al Qudrah Roads; where it joins with the second track to ensure continuity for the enthusiasts of long-distance cycling sport.

“The second track stretches about 27 km and starts off the front of Bab Al Shams Hotel and runs till the R/A at Al Qudrah Road, before it moves southward along the road leading to Seih Al Dahal,” explained Al Tayer.

“This project comes in the context of RTA Master Plan developed for providing dedicated cycling tracks covering all parts of the Emirate to be used as environment-friendly mobility means or for practicing sport, besides epitomizing RTA’s Vision of providing Safe & Smooth Transport for All. More info

Officials said the move was aimed at ‘forcing’ taxi drivers to pick up pre-booked customers and improve service as well as increase their incomes. On an average, 15,000 customers pre-book taxis daily. Pre-booked taxis account for five per cent of total taxi users.

Dubai Taxi

The revised flag-down rate is applicable only on taxis being booked through the RTA’s Booking and Dispatch Centre during morning rush hours from 7 to 10am and evening rush hours from 4 to 8pm from Saturday to Wednesday. On Thursdays, Fridays, Eids, official holidays and official events, the new fare will  be applicable from 4pm to midnight only.

“Taxi drivers have lots of choices. Despite being fined, nobody wants to pick up pre-booked customers when they can easily find someone on the road,” said Essa Abdul Rahman Al Dosari, CEO of the RTA Public Transport Agency.

“The rise in the fare will boost the income of the drivers and also make more taxis available at the dispatch centre,” he said.

He also said the RTA had taken the decision after conducting a number of studies and field surveys to review the cab drivers’ daily work issues as well as to seek ways to improve services to customers.

“Normal booking fares of Dh6 will apply during other times,” he explained. The decision will be applicable to taxicabs run by the Dubai Transport Corporation as well as franchise companies.

“The decision will also minimise cabbies reluctance to pick up passengers,” he added.

Residents, however, were sceptical of the decision. “It is not easy to find a taxi during peak hours and many times I have had to walk home. Sometimes, I book a taxi but now that too will be more expensive,” said a schoolteacher who works in Qusais. More info

Dubai: Khalid Bin Walid has emerged as the busiest Metro station in Dubai with more than 19,000 passengers using the station every day, a top official has told XPRESS.

Ramadan Abdullah, Director, Rail Operations, Dubai Metro, said an average of 19,097 passengers take the Metro to or from the Khalid Bin Walid station in Bur Dubai every day, followed by Union Square station with 18,113 passengers and Deira City Centre with 15,607 passengers.

Khalid Bin Walid station

Average ridership

The total average ridership on the Metro is 297,357 passengers per day.

* Image Credit: Zarina Fernandes/XPRESS * Gold, silver or ladies compartments, getting into the trains during peak hours is a daunting task.

Abdullah said Khalid Bin Walid attracts large numbers of passengers for many reasons. “There are lots of businesses in the area as well as restaurants and hotels that are frequented by a high number of Metro users. The station is a popular interchange station for passengers switching between the Red and Green lines to complete their journey. The BurJuman shopping mall also attracts a large number of Metro users.”

But passengers who regularly use the station rued the mad rush at the station during peak hours.

Shama Kapoor, a receptionist who takes the Metro from Khalid Bin Walid to the Noor Islamic Bank station every morning, said, “I prefer to get into the women’s compartment but it’s always packed. Earlier, it was a scramble just getting in. Now I need to stand in a queue but there are so many people that I end up missing the first train.”

Abdul Hakim, an engineer, said, “I started using the Gold card thinking there would be no rush in the Gold compartment. But there are so many people who travel in this compartment from Khalid Bin Walid.” More info