All employees and officials at Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) should be smiling a little more today. According to the latest data, every mode of public transport in Dubai witnessed an increase in passenger numbers last year. And for all those involved in keeping the public moving, they should indeed take a bow.
The Red and Green Lines of the Dubai Metro transported nearly 110 million passengers last year. If those numbers had to rely on alternative forms of transport, no one in Dubai would have got anywhere quickly — or indeed slowly. Traffic would have come to a virtual standstill while the carbon footprint of the emirate would have been significantly higher. As it stands now, there are 1.13 million vehicles registered in Dubai — and this number would have been substantially higher were it not for the efficient public transport system developed over the past decade. In addition, when the new tram lines come on-stream in the Dubai Marina and Jumeriah areas, these impressive user rates will jump significantly.
Above all, the user rate shows that the government’s commitment to developing public transport is paying huge social and environmental dividends.
