Come February 4, more than 7,000 private vehicles in Dubai will stay off the roads to mark the Dubai Municipality’s annual Car-Free Day. This initiative, which this year coincides with the National Environment Day, is a strong reminder of our responsibility towards the environment and of conserving the planet’s depleting natural resources. The side-effects of our motoring lifestyles — Dubai registered 1,264,315 vehicles in 2013, an increase of 11 per cent over 2012’s 1,137,750 — include air pollution, fossil fuel depletion, increase in carbon dioxide emissions, traffic accidents, stress and road rage.
Though observing even one car-free day in a year has its benefits — 20 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions have been prevented through five editions of the Car-Free Day so far — more voluntary car-free days by people in Dubai could lead to tremendous incremental benefits overall. Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is working towards maximum saturation of public transport in the emirate and also setting up more integrated transport hubs. This should encourage residents to go car-free more frequently, especially during the months when the weather is good.
