To learn more about the Dubai Commuter, Gulf News spoke to Dubai residents who use different types of transportation.

Metro commuter

Indian national Mohammad Hadi, 38, who is a senior relationship manager in retail banking at Barclays told Gulf News that he takes the Metro to work on a daily basis.

“I personally love taking the metro, because I get to my destination on time, save money on petrol and Salik and I also think it’s healthier. I find that sitting in traffic for long hours is unhealthy as by the time I get to my destination I start getting back pains.

“Stress is also another factor, driving in traffic for long hours gets me stressed out and sometimes I even start getting headaches. On the other hand when I go by Metro I get to walk from the station to the building that I have my meeting in and I can even stand in the Metro if I wanted too which in my opinion is much healthier than being in the same position for hours.”

“As a senior relationship manager, I have to attend many meetings and I have to be there on time which is why I take the metro despite the fact that I have a Hummer.

“I usually park my car at different Metro stations depending on where my meeting is and take the Metro to go to Dubai Marina, JBR or DIFC. My wife also takes the Metro to manage our restaurant in Deira. My son on the other hand is a whole different story he insists on taking the Metro and sometimes forces us to do so because as an only child he likes being around people and he sees the metro as an adventure!”

But Mohammad did admit there are some disadvantages.

“Some of the disadvantages that I face when taking the Metro is that sometimes the station is really far from the building that I have my meeting in and so I have to walk with my formal clothes in the heat.

“I usually take my jacket off and consider it a healthy stroll. However sometimes the weather would be too hot and I would have to take a cab,” he added.

Car commuter

Egyptian national Karim Bassem, 24, works as a marketing executive in Dubai Media City and takes his car to work every day.

“There is no Metro station close to where I live in Jumeirah Village which is why I take my car to work everyday as opposed to taking the Metro.” Said Karim, “traffic is not a problem as I reach work in 15 minutes however finding parking and paying for petrol is,” he added.

Karim told Gulf News that he did try the metro a handful of times:

”I did use the Metro around 10 times to meet my friends after work, which is considered to be the peak of the traffic rush.

“In this particular situation I found the Metro to be time and money efficient as well as clean. I liked the over all experience as it was something new,” he added.

Despite parking and petrol money problems Karim told Gulf News that he does enjoy driving his car to work as opposed to taking the metro. “This is mainly because I do not have to be restricted by the metro timings and I can leave whenever I want from work.

“For example I can leave for my lunch break to have lunch in a restaurant and come back to work. If I depended on a Metro I would not be able to do that.”

“Besides how would I be able to listen to my music on loud if I was to take the metro?” Karim added.