Staggered work starts could ease Dubai traffic

Dubai: Staggering start times for different government departments across the emirates could ease traffic congestion by removing bottleneck travel times, said a police official.

The timings would be set at 30 minutes apart.

Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Head of the The Federal Traffic Council and Assistant to Dubai Police Chief for Operations’ Affairs, said the council will weight the proposal at the council’s next meeting.

If the council agrees, it will be proposed to the Ministry of Interior.

They will also be looking into changing the start and end time of university students, as most of the students drive their own cars, which contributes to traffic jams.

“We will see if it is possible to shift the timings of teachers and students and make it before that of employees,” he said.

Government departments will then change the shifts of their employees based on their job descriptions.

Maj Gen Al Zafein said that similar proposals have been implemented in other countries and were effective in easing traffic jams.

“One of the main reason why there is heavy traffic on Dubai’s roads in the morning hours, is because everyone needs to be at work at the same time as all shifts of official sectors are all the same.” Maj Gen Al Zafein noted.

He said it is normal to have traffic congestion, accidents and other obstacles that may disrupt

the flow of traffic because of that.

Ban on minibuses

The council will also discuss the possibility to ban the use of minibuses for transporting people, starting with making it illegal to transport students.

Al Zafein said that they are discussing this issue due to the dangers posed by this type of vehicle, as it has no emergency exits from the ceiling like large buses,

He added that the seats are also uncomfortable and the seating arrangement causes passengers to fall on top of one another in case of an accident, which causes injuries and reduces the passengers’ chances of survival and exit from the vehicle.