Water bus service by July-end
Water bus service by July-end
Dubai: Water bus service is set to start in Dubai Creek by the end of July.
It is the first phase of the Road and Transport Authority's Marine Strategic Plan 2020.
A one-way trip across the creek will cost Dh4. Initially, 10 water buses, manufactured locally, will serve four routes and five stations along the creek.
Two of the 10 water buses will be reserved for tourists.
"The water bus will complement the existing abra service, but it will provide luxury service to passengers to cross the creek," said Engineer Eisa Al Dossary, Chief Executive Officer of the Marine Agency at the RTA.
Water buses will run from five stations, including Sabka and Baniyas in Deira and Al Gubaiba, Dubai Old Souq and Al Seef Stations in Bur Dubai.
Trip
The entire trip between two stations will take 30 minutes, including stopping, boarding and alighting. The actual sailing time on different routes will be from two to seven minutes depending on the distance.
The overall cost of the water bus project is around Dh10 million; one bus will cost Dh700,000.
The water buses will have Arabic majlis style seating, a display screen, toilet and will cater to people with special needs. About two million people are expected to use water buses in the first year of operation, and is expected to rise to more than five million.
The water buses will operate seven days a week, from 6am to midnight with 10 minutes headway time between trips.
