Source: www.rta.ae
Metro, bus and water bus free rides offered to Nol card holders 100 dirham complimentary credit added to the mostly used 50 Nol cards. Al Tayer: Phase II of Dedicated Bus Lanes project kicked off at Naif & Al Ittihad Roads
His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), announced the launch of the second edition of the Public Transport Day initiative under the theme (Together We Move …) on the first of November this year to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the RTA. The day will be marked with a free use of the Dubai Metro, public buses and water bus for Nol card holders. The second round of the initiative is set to be widely popular among public and private entities as well as all community segments.
“The initiative aims to raise the profile of Dubai Emirate in supporting initiatives that contribute to the improvement of the environment & sustainable development, encourage the populace to use public transport means, and promote the modern mass transit modes offered by the RTA spanning the metro, buses and marine transport means.
The initiative also seeks to increase the ridership of public transport means, enhance the integration of multi-modal transport systems and showcase the pioneering role of the Dubai Emirate in general and the RTA in particular in uplifting the public transport, and diffusing the culture of public transport among all community segments. In particular it seeks to illustrate the benefits and advantages that accrue to the individual as a result of using public transport means such as offering psychological & physical comfort during mobility, and reducing the costs of fuels and maintenance of vehicles let alone the significant reduction of traffic fatalities and carbon emissions from vehicle exhausts,” said Al Tayer.
“The Public Transport Day initiative comprises a host of programs & events. Besides the free rides on the metro, public buses and the water bus to Nol card holders, RTA will also kick-start Phase II of the Dedicated Bus & Taxi Lane; which covers part of Naif Road extending 1 km from Al Musalla Road up to Al Khaleej Road, and Al Ittihad Road in a sector extending 1 km in the direction from Sharjah to Dubai starting from the entry point of Dubai Emirate up to Al Nahdah Interchange.
RTA has added a dedicated lane for buses and taxis to Naif Road through removing the longitudinal parking slots on the right-hand side of the Road while leaving the parking on the left-hand side of the Road unchanged. As for Al Ittihad Road, the RTA has removed the concrete barriers on the road in the direction of Sharjah-Al Nahdah Interchange used to separate the mainstream road from the service road and close the traffic movement from Sharjah to Al Mamzar; which is will now be open for buses only.
“The events of the Public Transport Day also include a mobile expo in a number of universities to promote the existing transport system in Dubai Emirate and encourage students as well as the teaching & administrative staff to use mass transit systems, particularly given the special offers for students’ mobility. The initiative also includes staging heritage and public art shows at Al Ittihad, Al Ras and Al Ghubaiba stations, and the holders of the mostly used 50 Nol cards will be rewarded with an additional credit of 100 dirham apiece.
The RTA will study the traffic impacts of this initiative through fixing counters at nine different locations in the roads of Dubai Emirate in order to count the traffic movement before and after the Public Transport Day initiative. RTA will also run an extensive marketing campaign to encourage the use of mass transit means via visual, audio and written media in both Arabic & English.
“The strategic plan of the RTA aims to raise the percentage of using the public transport means from 9.5% in the mid of 2011 to 30% by 2030 through providing integrated multi-modal transit systems, shifting the demand from private vehicles to public transport means, and providing effective and suitable roads network to access all parts of Dubai Emirate.
