As Dubai Metro turns 1, Sharmila Dhal talks to Ramadan Mohammad Abdullah, Director of Rail Operations, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) on the journey so far
How many marks on a scale of 10 would you give Dubai Metro on its first anniversary?
Our ridership has reached 30 million passengers to date. I would rank our achievement as 8 out of 10 as there is still room for improvement in terms of punctuality and availability.
On a personal note, how many times have you travelled by Metro since its launch?
At every possible opportunity. My kids enjoy the joyride as they get to see Dubai while travelling smoothly.
Have you had to stand in the queue for a ticket?
Yes, to top up my NOL card.
Have you had to stand on the train or have you got a seat every time?
I have stood on the train and have not been lucky to get a seat every time.
What's the biggest challenge you've faced?
During the first year, our main glitches included educating and encouraging people to use the Metro as it is the first of its kind in the region. This is still an ongoing challenge.
Other technical glitches, including maintaining punctuality and availability, did occur but we have been able to overcome those with ease as we are backed by a dedicated, proactive team.
How would you sum up your achievements?
Over the past six months, we have constantly scored over 98.7 per cent in "availability" and over 95.2 per cent in "punctuality". In August, we scored 99.4 per cent in "availability" and 98.8 per cent in "punctuality". We are looking at achieving 100 per cent in these categories.
Secondly, the Metro is one of the safest rail systems in the world and is nearly free from crimes. According to Dubai Metro statistics, the crime rate is 1.6 for every one million passengers using the Metro, which is an extremely low rate compared to developed countries. For example, in Britain it is 13 crimes per million Metro passengers, in Boston it is 8.5 crimes per million passengers and in Atlanta it is 5.7 crimes per million passengers.
The Dubai Metro operational results showed that the specifications set by the RTA for the design of Dubai Metro systems contributed to a 25 per cent reduction in power consumption, which is equivalent to Dh20 million per annum. They also reduced carbon dioxide emissions from the power generation plants owing to reduced power consumption.
The fourth is the continuous escalation in the number of Dubai Metro users. Currently, we have 120,000 daily passengers. This is attributed to the city's vitality.
What is the revenue from passenger traffic?
It is against our policy to speak on financial aspects.
How satisfied are you with the response?
On the customer service front, yes I am satisfied. We, however, welcome suggestions and complaints from our customers. We consistently score between one [very good] and two [good] for our client surveys. In the customer satisfaction survey undertaken recently, the majority of customers awarded us "very good" in all areas.
What are your plans for next year?
We expect to have the whole Red Line operational as well as commence service on the Green Line in August 2011.
In order to improve our service, we will reduce the headway, add more trains and look forward towards opening more retail outlets on the Metro station.
We aim at achieving the maximum capacity of 26,000 passengers per hour per direction with 90-second headway between trains.
