By Dhanusha Gokulan www.khaleejtimes.com
Dubai – Regular Dubai Metro users are complaining that the crowds during peak hours are becoming “insufferable”.
Jam-packed compartments, lack of availability of places to sit and unruly behaviour of passengers — especially while embarking and disembarking — are some of the complaints made by passengers.
People have started to grasp the benefits of using public transport, Mohammed Al Mudharreb, Director of Rail Operation at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said, as he unveiled the “remarkable increase” in the ridership of the Dubai Metro that clocked 14.825 million riders in January 2015. Last year, during the same month, 13.508 million riders used the Red and Green Lines of the Metro.
Meanwhile, the Dubai Tram — launched on November 11, 2014, — lifted 301,299 riders in January alone.
To accommodate the rising numbers of ridership, especially during the peak hours, the Rail Agency at the RTA has reduced the per train headway on the Red Line to two minutes, 38 seconds. The peak hours, as of September 1, 2013, are from 7am to 9am and from 5pm to 8pm from Sunday to Thursday. More info
