New Water Bus Is Ferry Good

The new ‘water bus' launched by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) may be short on beauty but it's big on service.

Earlier this week, at a private ceremony to mark the opening of the floating bridge, XPRESS was given an exclusive firsthand ride, along with dignitaries, aboard one of the 10 new ferries before publicly launching the service.

The boat (built by local marine firm C. Spree) may not win awards in the design department – it resembles a North American houseboat more than a public transport vessel – but it tops in functionality, right from the seating, to the air-conditioning which pumps out enough cold air to keep 35 passengers (full capacity) comfortable. This is ensured by clear plexiglass which contains the cold air within the deck area.

Under the firm hand of captain Borhanuddin Mahmoud, our ferry steamed its way through a passage across the floating bridge toward the Al Seef Station.

The boat felt stable on the waters even with an (almost) full load of passengers. It easily took a series of large waves sent across by passing boats on the Dubai Creek in its stride. The eight-tonne vessel had enough weight to ward off the waves, which passed along the twin hulls of the boat.

The aluminium catamaran hull is 10 metres lengthwise, and is powered by twin diesels – features that make the boat stable enough in relatively calm waters.

Our captain displayed fine piloting skills as he made his way through the darkness of the Creek at night with ease.

Despite being in the centre of a brightly-lit city, the Dubai Creek gets extremely dark in the middle, which is why it's so critical to have a seasoned captain at the helm.

On disembarking at the new Al Seef station, we came upon an interesting tube-like floating office fastened to the dock wall along the park. It is from here that officials from Penguin Marine Boats Services – operators of the ferry service on behalf of the RTA – will look after matters such as safety, maintenance and timings.