Tag: passengers

"I heard that there was a problem yesterday but I came down to see whether it had been fixed," said Anthony Connell, 32 from the UK who was traveling to Dubai Mall. "They said it was OK and it looks like it's working fine. But you never know if the same problem could come up again."

The operating company for the Dubai Metro has completed experimental tests of the Green Line - the moving test without passengers. A source in the company said, “The company has completed interiors in the Metro stations and more than 80 per cent of parking in Al Qusais, with a capacity of 2,700 vehicles.”

Some small impressions of the Dubai Metro, the world's longest driverless metro system, on the Red Line (the only line opened at this point). A complete passenger drive on the complete line will follow.

Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), said: “Targeting to realise multi-modal integration of mass transit systems as envisaged in the RTA Strategic Plan, which is aligned with the Dubai Strategic Plan (Infrastructure Sector) aimed at providing an integrated road and transport system that ensures smooth traffic flow and the highest levels of safety for all system users.” RTA is making expeditious efforts to make the public transport means the ideal mobility choice for people in the Emirate.

According to latest statistics by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) the average number of daily riders in 2010 was about 957,000 persons compared to 800,000 persons in 2009. "The Dubai Metro has lifted about 38.888 million passengers in 2010 and the average daily rider-ship of the metro is currently hovering around 149,000 passengers and this number is poised to increase with the opening of the remaining metro stations on the Red Line..."

With more than 1 million registered vehicles serving 1.9 million population, Dubai has one car for every two residents , according to Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) 2010 data.

The consortium of firms behind Dubai’s long-awaited Al Sufouh Tram project has begun a work slowdown as cash concerns continue to plague the multibillion-dollar track. The group, which includes French conglomerate Alstom and Belgium’s Besix, has scaled back the pace of construction on the state-backed tram as discussions over refinancing continue.

Dubai metro HD video, January 2011

Dubai's plan to lure more people onto public transport has started gaining momentum as the number of commuters on the Metro and buses is rapidly increasing on a daily basis.

As it happens with many things in life, one person’s gain could be another’s loss. The popular adage seems to hold true for many of Dubai’s car rental and passenger transport companies as they grapple to cope with the success of the metro.