By Sajila Saseendran www.khaleejtimes.com
Dubai: Around 15,000 vehicles are expected to be off the roads in Dubai today to observe Dubai Municipality’s biggest ever Car-Free Day initiative, coinciding with the UAE’s National Environment Day.
Almost 200 entities including government departments and private companies have confirmed participation in the green drive, which will see ministers, senior officials and employees ditching cars to reach their workplaces. They will instead walk, cycle, or hop on to the Metro or buses.
“We are expecting the number of cars not used during work hours to be more than double the figure last year,” an official coordinating the event told Khaleej Times
“We have done elaborate preparations to make it a big success,” said Tasnim Salem Al Falasi of the Environment Department.
In 2014, participants from 66 entities gave up as many as 7,000 cars to commute to work, contributing to the reduction of 20 tonnes of carbon emission on the day of the event. This year, the municipality is expecting to reduce 70 to 90 tonnes of carbon emission. The final figures of vehicles not used and reduction in carbon emission will be released after the event. More info
