RTA Transition Towards Mass Transit Presented To The 58th UITP Congress

Roads & Transport Authority – Mohammed Al Munji:H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), headed RTA delegation taking part in 58th International Union of Public Transport (UITP) Congress and the accompanying City Transport Exhibition held at the Austrian capital Vienna under the theme “Public Transport: Making the Right Mobility Choices. The Congress attracted participation from around 4000 exhibitors/participants hailing from 35 countries. RTA has a large stand to share with the participants and visitors its experiment in developing mass transit systems spanning metro, tram, marine transport, public transport buses, road projects, and modern traffic technologies.
In a press conference held yesterday attended by a considerable numbers of media representatives and executives of companies taking part in the Exhibition, H.E. Mattar Al Tayer said: “The sharp vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, enabled Dubai to thrive at a rate higher than any city in the region. It turned Dubai into a creative city with innovative investment projects spanning airports, ports, and rail & transport systems in addition to landmark property projects such The Palm islands, The World, and Burj Dubai; all of which boast a stunning & magnificent design. Over the last decade, Dubai made unprecedented development strides across the region as demonstrated in the complete overhaul of the infrastructure, building of modern roads across the city, constructing high rises, uplifting Dubai International Airport to world-class standards, and constructing free industrial zones in addition to the provision of communication, internet & media services.
Al Tayer added: “The huge progress made by Dubai was paralleled with an equal growth in the number of vehicles used; triggering traffic bottlenecks. RTA prepared legislations and developed integrated solutions for road systems as well as surface & marine transport network; which are safe to use, and in line with the economic development plans of the emirate of Dubai and the highest global standards. Implementation of this plan contributed to a host of achievements such as the drop in traffic mortality rates from 24 cases per 100,000 of population to 17 cases (26%), drop in the worth of time wasted as a result of traffic congestion from 5.9 billion dirham to 4 billion dirham (32%), an increase in the number of lanes crossing Dubai Creek from 19 to 48 lanes (153%), an increase in the number of lanes of key roads from 36 lanes to 66 lanes (83%), and improved traffic flow on major roads by 30%.
Al Tayer went further to say: “The main challenge facing RTA is the limited use of mass transit modes which is as low as 6%, whereas the share of public transport modes in advanced countries ranges from 40% to 80%. Therefore RTA worked out a comprehensive plan to upgrade mass transit sector with a view to pushing its share in person trips made up to 30% through extensive expansion of public transport systems. Projects undertaken to achieve this objective include Dubai Metro; which expands 75 km and comprises 47 stations, Sufouh Tram Project extending 14 km and covering 19 stations, beefing-up public transport bus fleet to 2100 by mid of 2010 covering a network of 3000 km long. The plan also envisages construction of 1000 air-conditioned bus shelters for public transport users offering them comfort to lure them toward the use of public buses. RTA also launched several initiatives to boost the transition towards public transport such as Sharekni and Awselni, in addition to introducing Journey Planner program (Wojhati), provision of maps showing route path at stations as well as internal & external bus display monitors, and re-routing bus lines to serve the major spots and provide feeder services to Dubai Metro Stations”.
In his speech Mattar Al Tayer spoke about RTA plan to upgrade marine transport mode and threw some light on Creek lines operation, the Coastal Line along Jumeirah Beach and the vital line linking with man-made island projects. “Marine transport network is set to expand from 20 km to more than 450 km to serve waterfront projects, and property islands which have a coastal line stretching more than 1700 km. RTA operated the Water Bus, improved abra services, and embarked on a trial run of natural gas-powered abras. Additionally, RTA is currently undertaking two vital marine projects; operation of about 20 ferries with a capacity to load 120 passengers each, and 10 Water Taxis with a capacity of 7 passengers each”. Al Tayer commented on the environment conservation through public transport by saying: “All the new public transport buses are fitted with Euro 4 environment-friendly technologies, and we kicked off the trial run of gas-powered abras as part of the drive to make marine transport modes, including the water taxi and Ferry Dubai, environment-friendly. Work is up and running in the trial run of hybrid taxis and introducing green building concepts in transport stations and buildings”.
Exhibition Tour
The Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of RTA H.E. Mattar Al Tayer made a tour of the exhibition accompanied with Roberto Cavalier Chairman of the International Union of Public Transport (UITP), Mohammed Obaid Al Mulla, CEO of Marine Agency, Essa Al Dossari, CEO of Public Transport Agency, Abdul Aziz Malik CEO of Dubai Taxi Corporation, Naser Hamad Bu Shihab Director of Strategic Planning Dep’t, and Peyman Younes Parham Director of Marketing & Corporate Communication Dep’t.
During the tour of the specialized companies and factories participating in the exhibition accompanying the Congress, Al Tayer reviewed the latest technologies used in the driverless trains and trams, and checked the latest trends in constructing, manufacturing, operating and maintaining rail systems, and also reviewed the new generation of public buses fitted with environment-friendly engines. In one of the stands Al Tayer viewed a modern system, which is being introduced by Public Transport Agency on several buses enabling the Agency to track bus movements, measure driver efficiency and fix bus maintenance schedules, and the system is set to be generalized to all public buses by the mid of 2010. Al Tayer also viewed high-tech unified fare collections cards used for buses, trains, and marine transport modes as well as paid parking zones. At the sidelines of the tour, Al Tayer met with several key executives of companies operating in rail and transport system industry.