By Ajanta Paul www.emirates247.com
Dubai is a city hot over wheels. Many residents may opt to drive but there are also large sections who rely on public transport.
Feeder buses and metro services are a huge relief to this group of residents.
Dubai Marina was built to create an awe-inspiring city-within-a city experience for residents. Marina and Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT) were touted to be prime locations in Dubai.
But residents, visitors and those working in these two localities complain that there are few, or no, feeder bus services provided by the RTA.
Sharon, an Indian, who lives in JLT says she has to walk down the footbridge of JLT metro station and come to the other side of Dubai Marina to catch a bus.
“But this wait is still better since I at least get a bus this side. In JLT I don’t even get that,” she says.
The RTA customer service representative confirmed Sharon’s story and informed that there was not a single bus plying in JLT.
That explains why Dexter, a Filipino, also crosses JLT metro footbridge to Dubai Marina to catch his bus.
Talking to ‘Emirates24|7’ Essa Abdulrahman Al Dossary, CEO Public Transport Agency, RTA said, “We went to survey the JLT area to find out the need of any bus services. But we did not receive any feedback. We are willing to extend all sorts of facility”.
In Dubai Marina there is only one bus, F37, which caters to the entire locality.
This bus provides services only to the outer ring of Marina road whereas the inner circle has no bus facility at all. Marina houses almost 110,000 people in residential towers and villas.
Om from Nepal says, “A bus in the inner circle will help us a lot. We won’t have to walk till the metro every time”. More info