Abu Dhabi: A new express bus service, brought in over Eid, has proven a hit with commuters.
Operating between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, the speedy service has become popular among regular commuters between the two cities.
The bus office at Department of Transport (DoT) in Abu Dhabi introduced the new line on Sunday.
Named ‘X90’, it operates from Abu Dhabi between 4:30am and 12 midnight every half hour, said a customer care executive at DoT’s call centre.
From Al Ain, it also operates between 4.30am and 12 midnight, every half hour, between the two cities. The Abu Dhabi–Al Ain service has only one stop in between at Al Khatem. The ticket to Al Khatem costs Dh8.
The new service replaced the previous bus service over Eid, named 700, which had multiple stops between the two cities.
An executive hinted that since the service was introduced during Eid holidays, this may be withdrawn and the previous service restored later.
The officials at DoT were not available for comments yesterday.
Although the new service costs Dh15 between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, up from Dh10 charged by the previous service, regular commuters have found it convenient as it saves their time.
“It reaches [the destination] by one and half hour whereas the previous service with multiple stops used to take one hour and forty five minutes,” said Abdul Rahman Mountebako who lives in Al Ain and works in Abu Dhabi city.
He said he is able to save half an hour everyday. “For regular commuters like me it is very much convenient.”
Two more bus services have also been introduced between Al Ain and Abu Dhabi.
Bus number 440 is operating from Musaffah in Abu Dhabi to Al Ain International Airport and bus number 490 is from Al Ain Bus Station to Abu Dhabi International Airport.
The ticket costs between Dh2 and Dh10 as these routes have multiple stops.
The Mussaffah- Al Ain Airport service (440) operates between 5:05 and 9:05 pm in every 2 hour and 20 minutes. The duration of the journey is about 2 hour 45 minutes.
The Al Ain-Abu Dhabi airport service (490) operates between 6 am and 10 pm in every 3 hour and 10 minutes. The duration is 2 hour and 55 minutes. The public bus transport service was launched in Abu Dhabi in 2008 by the Department of Transport (DoT). By the end of 2011, the Bus Office at the DoT operated around 650 busses on over 95 routes catering to more than 50 million passengers within the different regions of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
