Source:Â www.ameinfo.com
H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), received a Qatari delegation headed by H.E. Ibrahim bin Abdullah Al Ibrahim, Member of the Central Municipal Council. The meeting was attended from the Qatar side by Hassan bin Abbas Abdul Rahim, and Hamad bin Salih Al Hawl, and from the RTA attended a host of CEOs and Directors.
In the outset of the meeting, H.E. Mattar Al Tayer commended the cordial relations linking the UAE and the sister state of Qatar under the wise leaderships of both countries.
“Visits of delegations from GCC countries offer a great opportunity for exchanging expertise in various fields and capitalizing on the practices of the GCC countries. In this regard RTA is pleased to offer all its expertise and resources in support of sister and friendly countries,” said Al Tayer.
The meeting reviewed RTA expertise in the drive to migrate from private vehicles to public transport means; where Al Tayer said: “From inception, RTA was keen on developing mass transit modes with the aim of making them the favourite means of peoples mobility across the Emirate and a target was set to increase public transport ridership from 6% in 2006 to as much as 34% in 2020. To realize this objective, RTA embarked on the Dubai Metro project billed as the world’s longest driverless metro line undertaken in a single project, where the first phase was opened on 09/09/2009. The fleet of public buses jumped from 560 buses at the time of RTA establishment to more than 1550 buses in 2010.
Moreover, RTA operated 670 air-conditioned bus shelters, completed the construction of bus depots at Al Awir, Al Rawiya and Al Khawaneej besides that the work is up and running in constructing Jebel Ali Bus Depot. As to marine transit systems, RTA operated the Water Bus, Water Taxi and renovated 154 abras.”
“Thanks to these efforts, public transport in the Emirate has evolved into a dynamic system in the daily movement of residents and visitors. The number of persons who used public transport means in 2009 was in excess of 288.777 million with a daily ridership of about one million travelers and currently public transport account for 11% of the total trips, compared to 6% in 2006,”
said Al Tayer in a final remark.
For its part the Qatari delegation commended RTA’s speed in delivering infrastructure projects such as roads network, Dubai Metro, fleet of public buses and the integration between public transport modes. They also hailed the Dubai Metro project featured by its stunning design, high quality finishing, and excellent services to commuters.
“Countries in the region are impressed by the development drive witnessed by the UAE, thanks to its shrewd leadership; rendering it a focal point of many governments with the aim of benefiting from these expertise and practices in delivering and managing projects in various fields. The Qatari government is interested in benefiting from the expertise of Dubai Emirate in modernizing mass transit modes, sorting out bottlenecks in key Qatari cities, and upgrading the transport infrastructure to prop up the economic drive through increased investments, enhanced commercial activities and higher number of tourists,” said H.E. Ibrahim bin Abdullah Al Ibrahim.
