By Heather Madore, Community Journalist www.gulfnews.com
Dubai: Readers find the Metro to be a good solution when they have the time to spare but prefer other modes of transportation as it only requires you to get on and off once.
Hopping into a feeder bus, hopping off, taking a Metro, back on a feeder bus — the process can be cumbersome when you need to be somewhere fast.
However, with the opening of seven new stations and increased frequency of trains would their waiting woes reduce, luring them to the cool confines of the white and blue carriages skimming across Dubai’s skyline?
Gulf News asked its readers what their options would be.
Nikita Modha, a Sharjah-based student, says that she takes the Metro as it is easier because you just “get on and go” rather than waiting for a taxi or a bus.
With the opening of more stations and shorter waiting times, she believes that more people will use it, too. “It’s cheaper and more convenient than other forms of transportation,” she explains. “It makes it easier to travel around than it was before.”
Manu Mahdi, a general manager in the technology field living in Dubai, says the Metro is convenient for weekends and shopping trips. “Everything is just a step away. It’s quite comfortable.”
Mahdi does not use the Metro very much when it comes to work, because there is no direct route and the trip involves taking both the train and a feeder bus.
He thinks that many people are still using their cars. However, with the opening of the new stations, Mahdi feels people will be more inclined to take it.
“My final plan is to take the Metro when the Jebel Ali station opens; [and] more than 35 per cent of my colleagues are waiting for the Jebel Ali station to open.”
Saqeer S.V. from Dubai agrees in his post on gulfnews.com: “[I am] wondering why Jebel Ali and Al Quoz stations are not given priority as this will considerably reduce traffic problems and help employees working in these areas.”
Dubai-based nurse Norma Lim likes to take the Metro because it is more convenient. She doesn’t use it all the time because there is no direct route for her — the trip from home to work takes 60 minutes including the bus journey.
Lim might not take the Metro that often but with the new stations opening people might use it more frequently. She says that it would help to have more parking spaces and increased awareness of “the facilities”.
“It’s easy to travel from one place to another. People who are [on an] average income, it is better financially, and for [people like] executives, I see a lot of them will park their cars and take the train, because it is much faster,” she explains.
Suresh M.G. of Dubai, commented on gulfnews.com that the Metro has, “saved my time to travel. Previously it took 45 minutes to reach my office and back home … [now I’m] saving 30 minutes and by walking I am more healthy nowadays.”
