By Majorie van Leijen www.emirates247.com
Almost Dh13 billion in time and fuel was saved as a result of projects and initiatives of Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) in 2013, an increase of 345 per cent in comparison to the almost Dh3 billion in savings made in 2006.
Compared to 6 per cent of the trips made by public transportation in 2006, this share doubled to 12 per cent in 2013, and the RTA strives to achieve a 20 per cent figure by 2020.
These numbers were presented by Abdullah Al Malik, CEO of the UITP MENA Centre for Transport Excellence, (MENA CTE) at the kick-off of the 7-day Leaders in Urban Planning Program in Dubai.
Al Malik gave an overview of the changes in the public transportation landscape since the inception of the RTA, when an annual estimated of Dh11 billion was lost in value of time due to traffic congestion, the fatality rate on the road was 21.9 per 100,000 people and road accidents cost Dh20 million per year.
Car ownership in that time was 541 per 1,000 people, a high rate in comparison to other countries, explained Al Malik. “Higher car ownership is usually associated with a lower public transport mode share.”
Over the years, car ownership is been reduced to 480 per 1,000 people, and one of the objectives of the RTA is to shift the demand to public transport. A lot has changed over the years. More info
