UAE | Traffic and Transport

To name or not to name?

Metro will be the first in the world to lease naming rights of stations and both Red and Green lines to bidding companies. While many hail this as an innovative project, others say it will compromise the city's identity.

  • By Abbas Al Lawati, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 00:08 July 2, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Each of the 23 stations available for naming will have a unique value, according to location and passenger number.
  • Image Credit:
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Dubai: As Dubai gets ready to become the first Gulf city to introduce a rapid transit system, a debate is raging on the impact of leasing naming rights of Metro stations to companies on the identity of the fast-developing emirate.

Video: Dubai Metro train test-run

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has placed full page advertisements in a number of prominent American and European magazines to invite bidders.

Officials at the authority have been priding over the fact that Dubai Metro will be the first in the world to lease naming rights of stations and both Red and Green lines to companies.

But not everybody in Dubai thinks the innovative revenue model is a great idea. While RTA officials argue that selling naming rights means taking the burden of high transport fees off commuters, some believe it is one step too far.

‘Reconsider' the idea

Bilal Al Budoor, assistant under-secretary for Cultural Affairs at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development, is against the idea and believes it should be reconsidered. The UAE has had prominent personalities and landmarks that deserve the privilege more, he argued in an interview with Gulf News.

Names of stations, Al Budoor said, would last much longer than they are leased for. The phenomenon is not new, he said, since a number of places in Dubai continue to be referred to by their old names despite being officially changed.

“Bani Yas square is still referred to as Naser Square, and Muhaisna as Madinat Lootah. Even if a station is renamed a thousand times, people will still refer to it by its first name,'' he said.

Al Budoor went further, saying that the naming of Metro stations was not alone in undermining Dubai's identity. “If you walk in the streets of Dubai and see the names of some of the shops, you'd think you were in a foreign country,'' he said.

Advocates of globalisation often argue, however, that progress cannot be made without embracing globalisation.

Dr Mohammad Al Mutawa', sociology professor at UAE University, said that the sensitivities to the naming have been exaggerated.

Globalisation

“Let's not be too sensitive about this.… We are in a stage of globalisation and all that it entails, including the mixing of cultures, civilisations and nationalities. As long as the names don't contradict the values of the nation, there's nothing wrong with the idea,'' he said.

He added, however, that it would be preferable to have stations named after prominent historical figures “whether they have had an impact on a local level or globally''.

Two Metro stations on roads named after historical figures, however, have been spared from being sold by RTA.

Abu Baker Al Siddique station and Salahuddin station, which are on roads named after the first Caliph and the Muslim warrior who liberated Jerusalem respectively, are not on the list of stations to be renamed by companies.

Writer and historian, Dr Fatma Al Sayegh recognises the benefits of globalisation, but said that the UAE cannot afford to wholly embrace it, referring to the phenomenon as a “passing storm''.

“We can't allow this storm to take everything from us as it passes … especially since our nation-building process is ongoing. Renaming landmarks wouldn't have the same effect in a fully developed society with a stable culture as it would here,'' she said, adding that decision-makers needed to take that into consideration.

“These are changing times and we need to ensure that the storm passes without causing a lot of damage,'' Fatma said.

Have your say

What do you think of the RTA's plans to lease naming rights to metro stations in Dubai? Will it affect the identity of Dubai? Would you support it if it meant paying less for tickets? Are there certain companies that should be barred from being given naming rights? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the form bellow to send your comments.


Your comments


Thinking aloud. Why not look at naming and branding the trains with the company/brand identities and giving the stations their proper names (i.e. location or street names that makes sense)
Naqqash
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 02, 2008, 13:05

I totally agree with Mr. Bilal Al Budoor. Once the right is sold to a company it will be named for ever. People will always remember it by the first name. No matter what happen, even if the right is withdrawn from a company for awarding it to another one. Not a good idea. More confusion for users
Mansoor
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: July 02, 2008, 11:46

"Aneela, if you want to get to City Centre, just get on the train at Nike, skip Coca Cola, McDonald's, and BMW - remember to get off at Nissan - it's just a 1 min walk from there."
Nzaar
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 02, 2008, 11:39

This is culture VS corporate. We have very convincing arguments to support cultural values but at the same time, arguments to keep the cost of traveling low are also valuable. We need to find middle way. May be we can give the station a name which is mix of both Cultural and Corporate. Historical name will remain permanent and corporate name can be changed at the expiry of contract. I worked out some names for your review. Salah Aldin - Microsoft Station, Maktoom - Coke Station, Abu Bakar - Oracle Station. This is just and idea and can be refined further.
Faisal
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 02, 2008, 11:31

I think the metro stations should not be "up for sale" to any companies. As Mr Al Budoor said: no matter what a station is called, Dubai's residents will still refer to it by the nearest landmark, for example "Bur Juman station" or "Nasr Square station" or "Deira City Centre station". There's no need to add to the confusion by choosing different names!
Jessica
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 02, 2008, 10:42

Authorities need to reconsider. The naming of stations could be based on leaders, poets, philanthropists or historical landmark names. By selling to companies to name a station is not right
Jaya
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 02, 2008, 10:41

Dubai is managed with a corporate mindset, once you realize that, then it makes sense to capitalize on your assets being a Metro line or a Highway.
A.J.
AL AIN,UAE
Posted: July 02, 2008, 10:11

Hello Friends, Leasing naming rights of stations and getting the transport fees of commuters is something great !! Living in a time when ideas need to be innovative, economical and pragmatic, this is a very nice move. I extend my personal thanks to the UAE Government.
Tina
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 02, 2008, 10:08

I think a combination could work especially if it passed on considerable savings to the commuter. However I would like the prominent locations to be reserved for culturally significant identities within the Middle East and Dubai, e.g. Perl Station, Dubai Central Station so on. Being a western expiate living in Dubai, Im not sure I would like names like Ronald McDonald Station Or Donald Trump Stations But if its done sensitively and sensibly, why not!
paul
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 02, 2008, 10:05

It cost a lot of money to build the metro. The only entities that can help share the burden of this cost with the government are corporate entities, through naming stations after themselves. If the 'culture'-minded people have a problem with that, ask them to start donating some money towards the project, otherwise we will all have to pay higher fares.
Anand
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 02, 2008, 09:35

It is true that selling names would bring some financial benefit, but the country should keep its cultural and historical values by naming the stations after great personalities and places. Will the station change it's name once the sponsoring party withdraws from it ?
Ahamed
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 02, 2008, 09:20

I think Dubai is losing its cultural identity but at the same time gaining a global identity. With the current development pace in Dubai and the cultural identity loss, I believe leasing names to foreign companies would not be a good idea. Once we have a strong and stable cultural identity it would be safer to lease station names. Our leaders need to find the balance between cultural identity and global identity.
Abdullatif
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 02, 2008, 09:18

I hope commuters will not be confused in which station they will ride and take off from to reach their destinations.
Rolan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 02, 2008, 09:14

UAE have had prominent personalities and landmarks that deserve the privilege more as said by Bilal Al Budoor is 100 percent right. Hope no one in UAE wants station to be named coca-cola. What will happen later on if the company plans to withdraw the contract, RTA will change name of station, public places should not be materialised like this.
venu
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 02, 2008, 08:30

Everywhere you look these days, there are advertisements where someone is trying to sell you something. keep the Station names in line with the landmarks they're close to. The last thing I want to do when the Metro is complete is try to find the Burj Al Arab by taking the Pepsi Line to the Microsoft Station. That doesn't sound right at all....
Will
Dubai,U.A.E.
Posted: July 02, 2008, 08:10

Selling the name is not good to the nation to keep its history and values for the coming generation. Select according to the historical value and not for making additional income which will create many unexpected contingency.
Ram
Dubai,U.A.E.
Posted: July 02, 2008, 08:06

I think that naming the stations after corporate sponsors is a mistake for many reasons, not least of which is that it will cause confusion to most users of the system. The purpose of station names is surely to indicate where that station is located. Salahuddin Station is obviously on Salahuddin Road, but if it was named after a corporation that had no relation to the location it would be meaningless to occasional travelers as well as tourists, creating all sorts of delays and wasted journeys as people hunt for the right stop.
Christopher
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 02, 2008, 07:56

With so much development happening in the Country and Dubai loosing its old historic charm, this would be the perfect time to bring out the rich Arabic names as names for each station. I was recently told that Dubai was formerly known as 'wasl', similarly there must be alot of old lost names which can be used to name these station, rather than going overseas to have companies bid and contribute that to "taking the burden of high transport fees off commuters".
Sidney
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 02, 2008, 07:38

I am French and I cannot imagine French metro with such branding - in Paris each stations is a part of history and culture of Dubai. Since 6 months I read in yr excellent newspaper a large debate about national culture. As guest of UAE I thought it would be a big mistake to do that - imagine visitors in Dubai they will remember burger name instead historical place or key leaders of UAE.
dupain
dubai,uae
Posted: July 02, 2008, 07:06

All these names should be compact, easily readable to every one. Long names are not at all a good concept. Names are for identifying stations.
Rajesh
Singapore,Singapore
Posted: July 02, 2008, 06:10

I feel this is ridiculous. If a tourist comes to Dubai and wants to go to a place, usually train stops indicate the area or street name, but now it will be something silly like National Bank of Dubai stop, while in fact the stop would be at a place like Mall of the Emirates. It will be very confusing and will complicate the use of the public transport. Be in mind low income people will be using the metro and they will be easily confused with the namings
Sal
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 02, 2008, 04:33

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