UAE | Traffic and Transport

Metro will bring lifestyle changes

People will turn to the Metro as long as it offers convenience, says a UAE sociologist.

  • By Mohammed N Al Khan, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:00 June 2, 2009
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Gulf News
  • A book enthusiast browses at a bookstore in one of the malls in Dubai. One of the lifestyle changes that using the Metro will encourage will be for commuters to spend more time reading during their journeys.
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Dubai: People will turn to the Metro as long as it offers convenience, says a UAE sociologist.

Dr. Mohammad Al Mutawa, Professor of Sociology at UAE University, says that if people begin using the Metro on a regular basis there will be an evident change in lifestyle.

"Will people leave their cars behind? No, I don't think so. The Metro will have to have a much wider network for people to even consider that. I am 100 per cent sure that at first people will flock to the Metro, as with all new things; but there has to be practicality and convenience if people are to depend on it on a daily basis," says Al Mutawa.

"Traffic in Dubai is a major issue and a major cause of stress and frustration. The Metro is one of the major solutions to the traffic problem. I feel that even if it takes just as long, or a little bit longer, to commute everyday it will still be an incentive for people to use a more relaxed method of transport."

Al Mutawa noted that the reduced stress will result in an increase in productivity; people will take advantage of the free time on the train to pick up new habits and skills.

Reading is one habit that most public transport commuters seem to pick up around the world, and book stores are ready to take advantage of the Metro.

"We definitely expect that there will be a boom in reading materials sold as we are about to finalise plans to open stores in four Metro stations," says Sachin Joshi, branch manager at Borders bookstore in the Mall of the Emirates.

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"Borders Express will be targeting commuters; besides daily newspapers and magazines we will be concentrating on small, easy to carry books that can fit in your pocket, for example."

Joshi also said they plan to have special offers for regular commuters. "Reading always has a positive impact on people, and we are seeing a trend of customers going for the self-help books and books on business and finance these days."

People might also learn to be more organised, says Al Mutawa. "Abiding by the Metro schedule and timing will have a clear change on people's habits and lifestyles. They will have to organise their day according to the train timetable."

"School transport will be something interesting to see how it develops," Al Mutawa says.

"Will parents have to drive the children to school and then use the Metro to go to work? Or will more and more students use school buses? Car-pooling children to school is not an option since many children in the same neighbourhood go to different schools."

But this is not the first time Dubai has had to cope with a change in lifestyle, says Al Mutawa.

"During the oil boom in the sixties the same thing happened. Cars were being introduced to the city, but in those days roads were made for donkeys, not cars. The infrastructure had to be put in place to make owning a car more convenient. People had to change their habit and thinking. They went from having an animal which needed care and attention to just having a tool. Today every house has two or three cars parked in it."

"I think there is a very good chance that Emiratis will use the Metro eventually. It will take time to get used to it, changing people's mentality and habit takes time," explains the professor.

"Back in the days when women were criticised for driving on their own, we may see the same thing happening with the Metro where women are criticised if they ride it without a chaperone.

"But then again the new generation of Emiratis has a different viewpoint than in the past."

"Back in the sixties the community was very closeknit; everybody knew everybody, there were no strangers. Today, these communities have been scattered everywhere; you bump into someone in the supermarket and you don't even realise that you are related by blood. I don't know my neighbour's name. People hardly ever leave their houses.

"There is no connection anymore except at funerals and weddings. Even for Eid and Ramadan all you get is an SMS these days."

"If more people start using the Metro they will start noticing those who are always on the same route, they will greet and begin to get to know each other and there might still be a sense of community regardless of nationality. Then again they could just as easily go on ignoring each other everyday."

What would you be doing while riding Dubai Metro? Will this help you capitalise on the time saved? Tell us

Your comments


connection public transport and metro fare will play a bigger role.
kandige
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: June 03, 2009, 15:32

I am planning now a lot for this metro. My company will be starting a project in Palm Jumeriah. So when this metro is started I will park in Quasis take metro to the palm and then the monorail to reach the site. I am really excited to avail this chance to use the metro.
Ejaz Ahmad
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 03, 2009, 13:23

People will only going to use this service if it is meeting their convenience, comfort, budget, highest priorty to safety, security and protection. Also RTA must drop their idea to install more salik gates in coming future because this will directly cause rush in the metro which will be inconvenient to travellers and people could approach to the dubai roads easily.
Arys
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 03, 2009, 13:18

I think the metro can change the lifestyle of the people but what the authorities also have to ensure that the corresponding connections i.e. the taxis and especially the buses from the stops to other places where people have to go are available at a very good frequency. Otherwise people will get to the stop and waste time in waiting for a bus or a cab.
Ankit Desai
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 03, 2009, 11:30

I am also waiting to travel by dubai metro trains.But i dont know how i will get to my workplace from the stations.Moreover Dhs.20 is not very cheap when we consider using this public transport!
Nitha
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 03, 2009, 10:44

Actually the best thing that everybody will do during the course of riding metro will be appreciating the beauty of UAE or we called sorroundings.You cannot see everything when you are in a car but riding above the ground there you can see things that you are not seen before even though you are passing there always.I like to see the area of Dubai using the metro where I can enjoy sightseeing of beautiful buildings and places here.I am eager to start riding the metro,its definitely a different rides..
Alvin
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 03, 2009, 08:51

Everybody is talking about Dubai Metro nowadays. we can read so many articles in different newspaper about Dubai Metro. There is no doubt about it that Dubai Metro is first LRT in the Gulf Region and everybody is considering it a good sign for Dubai. It will also ease the traffic congestion in Shiekh Zaid Road at least. It can also save our important time But one more thing that success of metro is totally depend on its fare. if it's fare is low more people would like to use it or if its fare is high then people avoid to use it. If one side fare is Dhs 10 then the monthly tranportation charges increase from 120 dhs to 600 dhs. In Kualalumpur(Malaysia) the mininmum fare of Metro is 1.2 Ringit and the maximum is 2.5 Ringit. we can see everybody is using metro in Kualalumpur. At last i'd like to say with the concerned athorities that before issuing the fare of dubai metro must think about it. think about the everyone.
Faraz Naqvi
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 03, 2009, 02:12

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