RTA Kicks Off 2nd Public Transport Day Initiative Today

Free Rides Offered On The Metro, Buses And Water Bus To Nol Card Holders. Al Tayer: 24 Government Authorities And Educational Institutions Support The Initiative.

Roads & Transport Authority – Mohammed Al Munji: Today the 2nd edition of the Public Transport Day initiative rolled out by the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), starts off under the theme (Together we move) where rides on the metro, public buses and water bus will be offered free of charge to Nol card holders.

H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA said that the 2nd round of the Public Transport Day initiative has attracted a wide participation of 24 government authorities & departments as well as private sector entities, educational institutions and various spectrums of the community.”

He continued: “The initiative aims to enhance the role of Dubai Emirate in supporting efforts that contribute to improving the environment, attaining sustainable development, encouraging the populace to use mass transit systems, and publicizing the modern public transport systems provided by the RTA which include the metro, buses and marine transit means. It also aims at increasing the ridership of public transport means, boosting the integration of public transport modes, and showcasing the leading role of the Dubai Emirate in general and RTA in particular in uplifting the public transport means. Besides that it also helps educate various community segments on mass transit culture along with the benefits & advantages accruing to the individual such as the psychological & physical comfort in smooth mobility, and reducing fuel consumption & maintenance let alone the fact that using public transport modes effectively contributes to curbing fatalities, and carbon emissions from vehicle exhausts.

“The Public Transport Day initiative comprises a plethora of programs & events. Besides the free rides on the metro, public buses and water bus to Nol card holders, RTA will also operate Phase II of the Dedicated Lanes for Buses and Taxis which include a one-kilometer long stretch of Naif Road from Al Musalla Road up to Al Khaleej Road, and one kilometer on Al Ittihad Road from the entry point of Dubai Emirate up to Al Nahdah Interchange. The RTA has also added a dedicated bus and taxi lane to Naif Road through removing the longitudinal car parks on the right hand side of the road while maintaining those on the left. As to Al Ittihad Road, RTA has removed the concrete barriers on the road in the direction from Sharjah to Al Nahdah separating the main road from the service road and blocking traffic from Sharjah to Al Mamzar, but the use of this lane will be allowed to buses only.

“The Public Transport Day events included a mobile exhibition in six universities and colleges to educate male and female students on the public transport means offered by the RTA, and encourage students as well as the teaching & administrative staff to use mass transit modes particularly as there are special fares for students travels. On Tuesday there will be heritage and folklore events as well as a bazaar in the surroundings of the Union and Al Ghubaiba Stations. The holders of 50 Nol cards most frequently used in public transport means will be honoured by a 100 dirham credit each. RTA will assess the traffic impacts of this initiative through setting up counters at nine different locations on the streets of Dubai Emirate to compute the traffic movement before and after the Public Transport Day. RTA will also run an extensive marketing campaign to promote the use of public transport means spanning all audio, visual and written media, be it in Arab or foreign.

“The Strategic Plan of the RTA seeks to raise the percentage of trips made by public transport means from 9.5% in the mid of 2011 to as much as 30% by 2030 through providing an integrated and multi-modal transit systems capable of deflecting the demand from the use of private vehicles to mass transit modes, and an effective as well as suitable roads network ensuring access to all parts of Dubai,” said Al Tayer in a final remark.

Emirate:  Dubai

Date: Oct 31, 2011

Back