Commuters marvel at the brand new Dubai Metro stations. The Dubai Metro is the world's longest driverless automated railway system with of about 76 kilometres of rail tracks and 47 stations Image Credit: Javed Nawab/Gulf News
Dubai: One year on, and Dubai Metro has carried millions of commuters across the emirate, while still maintaining that new subway smell.
Readers using it to get to work, to go shopping and for all kinds of other journeys told Gulf News that the service, the timings and the level of cleanliness are just as good as the day it opened.
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Mohammad Hadi, a Dubai sales representative who takes the Metro to go shopping, said it's also very cost-effective.
"If I take a taxi from Karama to Union Square it costs more than Dh30, but the Metro is only Dh1.80. If I take my car I lose out. You have to pay for parking everywhere. It's amazing [with the Metro]. I only spend Dh2. I save a lot as a result," he said.
Eleanor Catubay, a housekeeper based in Dubai, was also pleased she was able to save money by using the Metro.
No hassle
She said: "Whenever I go out I use the Metro and the bus. [With the Metro] when I go from Ibn Battuta to the Mall of the Emirates it only costs half the cost of going by bus.
"The Metro is [also] good because there's no traffic and it's a nice ride because there's no hassle involved," she added.
With the busy lifestyle many lead, "no hassle" is very important. There is no time wasted in going from point A to B and little waiting around for trains.
Timing is also important to Dubai-based student Sane Dlamini.
She said: "If you miss one train, within five minutes another one comes along. You don't have to wait long and there's always someone around to help you if you have any questions."
To Dlamini the Metro "still seems new".
Nadeem Ahmad says the timings of the trains suit him, but the Ajman-based consumer sales representative added that they're not to everyone's liking. He said: "For my working hours [9 to 5pm] it's ok, but for someone on the night shift, like till 1 am, it's not so good."
And while Ahmad is impressed by the level of cleanliness on the trains and with the helpful attitude of the staff at the terminals, he says the trains are lacking an official staff presence on board.
"Sometimes you need [an inspector] on the train, like maybe somebody really needs a seat. It could be a lady holding a child for example," he said.
Anthony Silvestre, a Dubai-based assistant supervisor in the telecommunications field also thinks the Metro service could be better.
"Sometimes [the train] is really packed. During rush hour, it's like being in a sardine can. They should add another train to help reduce the number of people and think about adding more cars for women, children and the elderly."
So while Metro users say there's room for improvement, overall they find it a reliable and cheap form of transportation.
Eid timings
During Eid Al Fitr holidays, Dubai Metro timings across the 21 stations will be from 6am to 1am, except on Friday when trains will run from 2pm to 1am.
For inquiries about train schedules, call 800 9090.
