551m riders used public transport in 2017: RTA

Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), revealed that mass transit means in Dubai comprising the Metro, Tram, Buses, marine transport (Abra, Ferry, Water Taxi & Water Bus), and taxis (Dubai Taxi & franchise companies) had lifted 551.7 million riders in 2017 according to RTA’s Statistics Section. It reflects an increase in the corresponding number recorded in 2016, which amounted to 543.6m riders in total. The daily ridership of public transport means in Dubai last year clocked 1.511m riders.

“The Dubai Metro had taken the largest slice of public transport commuters accounting for 36%, followed by taxis (32%), and public buses (28%). March recorded the highest number of commuters where 49.065 m riders were lifted. The breakdown per mode was as follows: Dubai Metro: 18.003 m riders, taxis: 15.677 m riders, buses: 13.534 m riders, marine transit means: 1.288 m riders, and Dubai Tram: 561,000 riders. December was the second busiest month where ridership clocked 48.857 m riders, and the number of riders was similar in Jan, April, May, October and November at an average of 47m riders per month. In the remaining months of the year, the total number of riders ranged from 40 to 43 m riders,” explained Al Tayer.

Continuous Growth

“Last year, the Dubai Metro lifted in both the Red and Green Lines 200.075 m riders compared with 191.3 m riders in 2016. The Red Line of Dubai Metro had seen a healthy growth in 2017 clocking 128.054 m riders compared with 121.6 m riders in 2016. Last year, the Green Line had lifted about 72.021 m riders compared with 69.7 m riders served in 2016. Burjuman and Union Stations, which are the two transfer stations at the intersection of the Red & Green Lines, accounted for the biggest chunk of riders with Burjuman Station recording 12.45 m riders, and the Union Station clocking 10.979 m riders. Al-Rigga Station was the busiest on the Red Line (9.335 m riders) followed by Deira City Center Station (7.709 m riders), ahead of Burj Khalifa Station (7.596 m riders). On the Green Line, Al Fahidi Station ranked first by the number of riders (8.137 m riders), next came Baniyas Station (6.647 m riders), and the third was the Stadium Station (5.757 m riders),” stated Al Tayer.

“The Dubai Tram had lifted last year 6.023 m riders compared with 5.4 m riders in 2016, and the number of public bus riders recorded 155.032 m riders last year compared with 151.1 m riders in 2016. The marine transport means (abras, waterbus, water taxi and Dubai Ferry) were used by 13.076 m riders last year, which is almost the same number of riders recorded in 2016. Taxis in Dubai (comprising Dubai Taxi, Hala Taxi and Franchise companies) lifted about 175 m riders last year,” he added.

People Culture

“Comprising a full range of integrated services, the public transport network in Dubai has become the backbone of people’s mobility all over the city. RTA’s efforts, in this regard, contributed to the growing numbers of public transport users across the board. The share of public transport in the mobility of people has leapfrogged from 6% in 2006 to 17% in 2017. RTA is endeavouring to push the share of public transport (metro, tram, buses, and marine transport) to 20% by 2020, and 30% by 2030. Equally important, the RTA has managed to transform the culture of various social segments and their attitudes towards using public transport. People have started to grasp the benefits associated with the use of mass transit means such as the physical relief, peace of mind, financial saving, high safety, and lower expenses of car usage in terms of fuel and maintenance among others,” commented Al Tayer.
 

Al Tayer was delighted with these indicators, which depict the effectiveness of plans and programs undertaken by the RTA in providing a variety of options for moving people in Dubai. “The strategic and executive plans for roads and transport systems pursued by the RTA are based on integrated services. It means that achieving smooth & accessible mobility in the Emirate hinges on providing integrated solutions in terms of improving and broadening roads network and crossings, and upgrading various components of mass transit systems such as the metro, tram, buses and water transport means. It also depends on upgrading the technology used in traffic & transport systems to ensure the optimal utilization and highest efficiency of roads and mass transit systems, adopting policies capable of reducing the semi-total reliance of the public on private vehicles and increasing their reliance on other transit systems including public transport. RTA plans are also focused on encouraging car-pooling especially in a city like Dubai where people ownership of private vehicles is as high as one vehicle per two persons,” concluded Al Tayer.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in Gulf Today on Tuesday February 24th, 2018 http://bit.ly/GulfTodayRTA